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ALS Therapy Development Institute Appoints Anil Godhwani to Board of Directors

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) announced today it has elected Anil Godhwani, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur, to its board of directors. ALS TDI is a 501(c)(3) "nonprofit biotechnology" organization with a mission to discover and develop treatments that effectively slow and stop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110204/DC42625LOGO)

"My mother was diagnosed with ALS last year and the disease is progressing rapidly. Shortly after her diagnosis, we met the amazing ALS TDI staff and their dedicated chairman Augie Nieto. I am honored to join the Board and work with my fellow directors to ensure that the Institute has the support it needs to continue to find ways to reduce the time and cost of drug development. I have no doubt that this organization will continue to change the way the world thinks about ALS," said Godhwani.

Godhwani is the co-founder of Simply Hired, an online job search engine based in Mountain View, Calif. The site has over 14 million visitors per month. Prior to Simply Hired Godhwani founded AtWeb, an online promotion and maintenance company, which he sold in 1998. Godhwani is also the co-founder of the India Community Center (ICC) in Milpitas, Calif., the largest Indo-American focused community organization in the country providing hundreds of programs annually to community members. Godhwani has helped raise over $15 million for ICC.

"Each member of our Board plays a unique role in helping us achieve our mission. As a successful entrepreneur and community philanthropist Anil will bring new experiences and fresh ideas. The executive team is looking forward to working with him, and the entire ALS community will benefit from having him take on a leadership role at ALS TDI," said the Institute's CEO & CSO, Dr. Steve Perrin.

Mr. Godhwani becomes the 12th member of the Board of Directors at ALS TDI. For information on the rest of the board, please visit http://www.als.net.

About the ALS Therapy Development Institute

The mission of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) is to develop effective therapeutics that slow or stop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease), as soon as possible. Focused on meeting this urgent unmet medical need, ALS TDI executes a robust discovery program, and operates the world's largest effort to pre-clinically validate potential therapeutics. The world's first nonprofit biotech, ALS TDI has developed an industrial-scale platform that allows for the development and testing of dozens of potential therapeutics each year. Built by and for patients, the Institute is the world's only nonprofit biotechnology company with more than 30 professional scientists. In addition, the Cambridge, Massachusetts based research Institute collaborates with leaders in both academia and industry to accelerate ALS therapeutic development. For more information, please visit us online at www.als.net.

Media Contact: Robert A. Goldstein, ALS TDI, rgoldstein@als.net, 617-441-7295

SOURCE ALS Therapy Development Institute