Occident shows its support for ALS sufferers at the DalecandELA Festival

"The Occident Foundation has also signed an agreement with BioBizkaia and DalecandELA to fund a research project on Aemotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)"

Occident is once again going to be the official sponsor of the DalecandELA Festival, designed to give a voice to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) sufferers and their carers. The festival, which is being held for the third consecutive year, will take place on 20, 21 and 22 September in Getxo (Bizkaia).

To mark the collaboration, Occident will sponsor and gave its name to “Travesía Occident Getxo por la ELA” (Occident Getxo Crossing for ALS), which will consist of two water routes at Ereaga beach, the first a 4.6km swim and the second, the most popular, a 2km swim, both starting and finishing in Puerto Viejo de Getxo. In addition, the company will also sponsor a morning yoga session.

When it comes to music, Occident will sponsor the concert “Tarque & La Asociación del Riff”, the project led by Carlos Tarque, vocalist of the well-known music group M Clan. The festival, organised by the non-profit organisation DalecandELA, has confirmed the presence of well-known groups and artists such as Burning, Los Brazos, Still River, Cordovas and Smile on the programme for this edition.

In the words of the Managing Director of Occident, Juan Closa, “initiatives such as the DalecandELA festival are vital to help raise awareness of diseases such as ELA. At Occident, we are working to meet our customers' needs, which means supporting initiatives such as this one that help enhance the well-being of society".

The DalecandELA association, founded in 2019, has worked to increase awareness of this disease among society, governments and institutions; to raise funds for research; and to help improve the quality of life of those affected by ALS. In 2023, the festival brought together more than 10,000 participants over the weekend.

Support for research into ALS

In addition to sponsoring this festival, the Occident Foundation has also signed an agreement with BioBizkaia and DalecandELA to fund a research project on Aemotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). This project, called “TranslationalStress,” is led by Dr Rosario Sánchez Perraute. Its aim is to develop individualised therapies, through either gene or pharmacological therapy, which modulate the response of the cells to stress (ISR). The ultimate goal is to speed up the process so that we can move on to the next clinical trial quickly, safely and effectively.