Why it issues: Social media challenges are nothing new, however how usually do you hear of 1 leading to one thing actually optimistic? Since 2014, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) ice bucket problem has prompted 1000’s of social media customers to douse themselves in ice-cold water and donate to the ALS Association. As a outcome, the problem has raised greater than $2 million, immediately contributing to a newly permitted ALS drug treatment.
Earlier this week, the ALS Association introduced FDA approval of AMX0035, also referred to as Relyvrio. The new treatment’s funding included donations from 2014’s ALS ice bucket problem, which unfold like wildfire throughout social media platforms worldwide.
The ice bucket problem gained traction following its popularization by patrick quinn and Pete Frates. As ALS sufferers themselves, they’re chargeable for appreciable will increase in consciousness, engagement, and fundraising following the problem’s 2014 rise. Former skilled golfer Chris Kennedy additionally helped exposed the motion to the mainstream. His video served as a springboard for the problem to succeed in a bigger, higher-profile viewers.
Social media’s position in advancing the problem and its trigger was monumental. According to knowledge offered by Facebook, the variety of customers participating in conversations in regards to the ALS ice bucket problem rose from zero in early June 2014 to greater than 6 million by August tenth, 2014. Following this climb, the variety of conversations concerning the problem all of a sudden quadrupled, participating greater than 24 million customers as of August seventeenth, 2014. Talk about going viral.
This huge spike in engagement drew the likes of social media customers from all walks of life, together with Facebook’s personal Mark Zuckerberg. This publicity led to challenges for different high-profile and deep-pocketed celebrities, together with Bill Gates, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s illness, is a progressive neurological illness that results in a decline in motor neurons. While the situation doesn’t have an effect on an individual’s psychological capability, it results in power and muscle loss, ensuing within the immobility of the limbs and physique and, finally, the shortcoming to breathe.
The donations obtained from the problem immediately impacted the ALS Association’s capability to assist the brand new drug’s improvement. In 2016, the affiliation offered Amylyx Pharmaceuticals with a $750,000 grant to assist the brand new drug’s medical trial pilot program. A month later, it furnished one other $1.46 million in donated funds to the Northeast ALS Consortium (NEALS) to assist AMX0035’s part 2 medical trials.
