I didn’t expect to see one of the stars from the medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” show up at an HHS press conference yesterday. But there he was — the actor who played the character longingly referred to as “McSteamy.”

Eric Dane recently went public with his ALS diagnosis and has since been using his star power to raise awareness about the disease and bring more attention to needed healthcare reforms — in this case, the importance of reducing prior authorization friction for ALS patients.

Patient advocacy has been crucial to driving ALS R&D, most notably through the viral “ice bucket challenge,” which was created in 2014 by two ALS patients and has since drummed up about $135 million in funding in the U.S. Millions raised in the challenge fueled drug development, including funding for some candidates in the clinic today, according to the ALS Therapy Institute.

Several drugmakers developing new treatments have run aground with clinic failures, but dozens of other candidates are in the works. Today, we’re looking at potential rising stars in the ALS treatment landscape and other key upcoming dates in the space.

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