PRIZE4LIFE HOSTED THE
ANNUAL BENEFIT GALA
AT SOTHEBY'S IN NYC
New York, NY (June 26,
2013) – Prize4Life, a nonprofit organization dedicated
to accelerating the discovery of treatments and a cure
for ALS, held its annual gala at Sotheby's on June 24th, 2013.
Special guest and auctioneer Jamie Niven, Sotheby’s
Chairman of the Americas, hosted the benefit, and
presented Doug Kerr, M.D., Ph.D., Medical Director,
Neurodegeneration - Clinical Development, with the
Prize4Life Pioneer Award on behalf of Biogen Idec for
their commitment to advancing ALS science and finding
treatments to help ALS patients live longer and better
lives. Also awarded were George, an ALS patient, and
Cynthia Mazareas who were honored with the Prize4Life
Courage Award for their activism within the ALS
community, raising funds and awareness to the community
at large, and for their leadership as Prize4Life board
members.
The benefit began with a
cocktail reception and live music by Alex Donner
Orchestra, followed by dinner, an awards ceremony and
live auction that welcomed over 250 guests. The evening
featured supporters including, Nobel Laureates Dr. H.
Robert Horvitz and Dr. Roger Kornberg, Dr. Neil Shneider
and Leah Dickerman , Dr. Tom and Rachel Maniatis ,
Leonard Tow, Harvey Krueger, Dennis and Roseline Michael
Neveling, Take Takekawa, A.J. Aralihalli, John &
Michelle Marie Heinemann, Tracy Stern, Elaine Sargent
and Nicole Noonan from the Gala Committee.
The organization’s CEO
and Co-Founder Avichai Kremer, who was diagnosed with
ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) at the age of
29 while attending Harvard Business School, was unable
to attend the gala due to health issues, but welcomed
the attendees to the gala via Skype and watched the
evening unfold from his home in Haifa, Israel. Gala
Honorary Chair Nathan Hevrony, founder and managing
director of HIG Equity LLC and international
philanthropist, took the stage to also address the
guests, in addition to Prize4LifeBoard of Directors
Chair Nicole Szlezak, M.D., Ph.D.
Guests enjoyed the
evening’s live auction, which included items like a
private tour of the MoMA, dinner at Sushi of Gari 46, a
stay at The Carlyle Hotel, and lunch with Google
executive Lisa Green.
Prize4Life believes that
solutions to some of the biggest challenges in ALS
research will require out-of-the-box thinking, and that
some of the most critical discoveries may come from
unlikely places. There are roughly 30,000 ALS patients
in the United States, an estimated 600,000 globally and
most people with ALS will die within 2-5 years. To date,
there is no known cure for ALS. For more information on
Prize4Life, please visit www.prize4life.org.