Local physician and entrepreneur Grayson Gremillion presented his company at the 7th annual BioChallenge pitch competition at the Joy Theater on November 14, and was selected as the winner of both the BioChallenge Grand Prize and the BioFund Investment Prize. Gremillion Technologies is developing a medical device to treat chronic rhinitis and allergies, which affects over 60 million people in the U.S. The judges were Barbara Dalton, VP of Corporate Venture Capital at Pfizer; Joseph Lovett, Managing Partner of Louisiana Funds; and Jami Youmans, Managing Partner of Vantage Ventures. The other BioChallenge finalists were: Levisonics, who is making devices for blood coagulation testing; Onco-Thera, who is developing a new therapy for glioblastoma; and Preptech, who is making products to improve surgical prep.
Innovation Louisiana 2018 was a Resounding Success
The 2018 edition of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center’s annual conference, Innovation Louisiana, featured speakers from Pfizer, Janssen, Enplas, the USPTO, NCI, NCATS, Harvard University, and many more, including Governor John Bel Edwards and Louisiana Secretary of Health Rebekah Gee. New features included concurrent sessions geared to specific attendees segments such as investors, attorneys, or academics. The 2018 conference had the highest attendance ever, and the attendees were able to create new contacts that will lead to growth for their businesses.