The top leaders of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD), Hope for Gabe and the Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne recently expressed their support for the 21st Century Cures Act, promoting the related #CuresNow campaign.
Attendees included the Ride4Gabe 2016 team, which is traveling to Maine to bike ride 2,200 miles to Mobile, Alabama. The goal is to raise awareness of the #CuresNow effort and Duchenne in general throughout the U.S. In just 11 days, the team will bike through nine states.
At the foundations’ rally, Gabe Griffin, a Duchenne patient who is 11 years old, encouraged the crowd to support the new act.
“We are united in our effort to get 21st Century Cures across the finish line -- and the standing-room-only crowd clearly shows we’ve got the wind at our backs in this effort,” Joel Wood, president of the Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne, said. “For my son, James, and for kids like Gabe, it’s time for #CuresNow, and it’s time to eradicate Duchenne.”
A documentary crew will follow the team to record the bike ride, further raising awareness of the disease.
“The Duchenne community stands together in sending a clear message that patients are counting on Congress to pass the 21st Century Cures Act -- we are energized as all eyes are on September for #CuresNow,” Pat Furlong, founding president and CEO of PPMD, said. “Accelerating the discovery, development and delivery of treatments will make a tremendous difference for Duchenne families and provide great hope.”
