NOLABA News
South Rampart Pharma Invited to Participate in 2021 NIH Innovation Conference & Life Sciences Summit
August 20, 2021
Exciting news for local company South Pharma! They’ve been selected to participate in the 2021 NIH Innovation Conference (NIC – a half-day, virtual event on Monday, Oct. 4) and Life Science Summit (LSS – a two-day virtual event Tuesday, Nov. 9 and Wednesday, Nov. 10) that connects innovation, capital, and industry.
See Q&A below with Company co-founder Dr. Hernan A. Bazan.
How do you feel about being selected to participate in the NIH Conference?
It’s obviously a great recognition of the hard science behind the venture. In 2020 we were able to compete with top groups from the major academic and entrepreneurial centers around the U.S. and an NIH (NINDS) Commercialization grant we submitted was scored highly and was funded. The NIH leadership has seen the progress in the past year and has invited us to attend the NIH Innovation Conference, as well as the Life Science Summit, where venture and finance meet.
South Rampart Pharma aims to advance the safe treatment of pain by developing new small-molecule solutions that have the potential to overcome many risks associated with current pain medicines. As a new small-molecule treatment option that is not a biologic therapy, South Rampart Pharma’s compounds have great potential as a value product that will be low cost and accessible to many patients.
What was your inspiration or reason for starting your company?
Over the years, I have realized the significant clinical and societal need for safer and non-addictive pain relief in the acute/emergency room setting as well as in post-operative scenarios of patients particularly with gastrointestinal issues and narcotic dependency. From these major unmet needs, my father (Nicolas Bazan, MD Ph.D.; Director of the LSUHSC Neuroscience Center) and I co-founded South Rampart Pharma, LLC in late 2016 to develop safer, non-opioid therapies for acute and chronic pain.
About South Rampart Pharma: South Rampart Pharma has a global footprint with preclinical work taking place not only in New Orleans, but also with collaborators in Spain and throughout the United States. The company is working with various Contract Research Organizations (CROs), each with more than 40 years of experience, to advance its lead compound in a cost-efficient manner to IND approval and early clinical trials.