Home / Boehringer Ingelheim to host Grass Roots program with Tulane University School of Medicine
Pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) launched its Grass Roots initiative to mentor early-stage companies, providing access to expertise and giving an industry perspective and feedback to emerging life-sciences businesses. BI and Tulane University School of Medicine are bringing two of those Grass Roots programs, Office Hours and the Boehringer Ingelheim Academy, to New Orleans.
“We’re thrilled to be hosting the first Office Hours in the United States outside of the East and West coasts,” said Elaine Hamm, PhD, Executive in Residence for Tulane University School of Medicine. “This allows our scientists to directly engage with industry and ask questions ranging from business strategy, preclinical experiment design and other topics that can help advance their work from lab to the market.”
The Office Hours sessions are already full, but the BI Academy and networking event is open to all and provides another opportunity for researchers to meet with representatives from Boehringer Ingelheim’s business development, venture fund, and alliance teams.
The Academy includes a panel discussion moderated by Patrik Erlmann, PhD, US Head of Research Beyond Borders at Boehringer Ingelheim, and features experts such as Amal Dakka, Director of Alliance Management, BD&L at Boehringer Ingelheim; and Fei Shen, PhD, Managing Director of Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund USA.
Hamm and James R. Zanewicz, JD, LLM, RTTP, Chief Business Officer of Tulane University School of Medicine, will join as panelists for the discussion on “Doing Biotech in New Orleans: What’s going well and where is there opportunity to improve?”
"New Orleans has historically been the birthplace of healthcare and life sciences innovations, and today, institutions such as Tulane University help continue this legacy by fostering first-class talent and commercializing technologies that impact the world's health,” said Jeanette Weiland, Chair of the Board of LouisianaBIO. “The arrival of the Boehringer Ingelheim Academy exemplifies how New Orleans' centrally-located, asset-rich community is a favored choice for bio industry investment and growth."
The BI Academy & Networking Reception are free, though tickets are required for the event. Click here to register. The event will be held at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center Wednesday, May 24 from 4:30 to 8 pm.