Ice Bucket Challenge Brings $1.5 Million for ALS Drug Trial
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Thousands of ice bucket dumps later, funds from the ALS Association’s blockbuster charity effort that raised $115 million last summer are going to a drug in late-stage trials for the first time.
Cytokinetics Inc. said it received $1.5 million to help finance testing of an experimental drug to improve lung function in patients with the devastating neurodegenerative disorder. The South San Francisco biotechnology company says it’s the first with a drug at such an advanced stage to get money from the viral fundraising effort, which gathered millions of social media views as it gained supporters ranging from actor Matt Damon to billionaire Bill Gates dumping a bucket of ice on their heads as a charity stunt.