Chris Ehrlich
Chris Ehrlich is currently the CEO of Launch One Acquisition Corp. (NASD: LPAA) as well as CEO and Chairman of CERo Therapeutics (NASD: CERO), a novel cancer immunotherapy company. He also serves as the Principal of Ehrlich Bioventures, LLC, a consultancy working with emerging biopharma companies. He previously served as the CEO of Phoenix Biotech Acquisition Corp., (NASD: PBAX) until its merger with CERo Therapeutics, Inc. Prior, he served as the CEO of Locust Walk Acquisition Corporation (NASD: LWAC) until August 2021 when it merged with eFFECTOR Therapeutics. From 2013 to 2021, he was a Senior Managing Director at Locust Walk, a life sciences Transaction firm, where he served as the Global Head of Biotechnology and Head of Strategic Transactions. Mr. Ehrlich has been involved with sourcing and leading multiple transactions for emerging biopharmaceutical companies, including the sale of Xyphos Biosciences, Inc. to Astellas in 2019 and the sale of Thar Pharmaceuticals to Grunenthal in 2018. Prior to Locust Walk, he was a Managing Director at InterWest Partners, a venture capital firm. As a General Partner, he served on the boards of KAI Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Amgen in 2012), Biomimetic Therapeutics, Inc. (NASD: BMTI, then acquired by Wright Medical Technologies in 2013), Invuity, Inc. (NASD: IVTY, then acquired by Stryker in 2018) and Xenon Pharmaceuticals, (NASD: XENE). Prior to joining InterWest, Mr. Ehrlich worked as the Director of Licensing and Business Development at Purdue Pharma, in business development at Genentech, in venture capital at the U.S. Russia Investment Fund, and in biotechnology strategy development at L.E.K. Consulting.
Mr. Ehrlich currently serves on the Advisory Boards of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program at the University of San Francisco, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth as well as the Healthcare at Kellogg Program at Northwestern University. He is a member of YPO Gold and a Senior Adviser to the Peter Michael Foundation. He is also an Adjunct Professor at University of San Francisco and an Instructor at Kellogg where he teaches a course on Bioentrepreneurship.
Mr. Ehrlich has a B.A. in Government from Dartmouth College and a M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Forging and Funding Healthcare Startups (HCAK-627-0)
The course will cover early-stage health care companies from the perspective of the entrepreneur (forging) and investor (funding). Health care is a big, complex field with many unmet needs. Our objective is to help the student understand what ideas are commercially viable among the many ideas that propose to fill those needs, providing the student with a realistic perspective should they decide to enter the field. Challenge and complexity if harnessed in the right way and viewed through the correct lens can create opportunities for the informed entrepreneur or investor. The course will explore the similarities and differences associated with building businesses in digital healthcare, medical devices and biopharmaceuticals, areas that attract the vast majority of venture capital investment in healthcare as well as the sources of capital that are available to get a startup off the ground In addition, how VC's evaluate health care deals, the flow of early stage capital and how the landscape of healthcare investment is evolving. This is a team-oriented course. Guest speakers will include experienced venture investors and CEOs of early-stage companies raising capital. Teams will be asked to evaluate early-stage investment opportunities and make an investment recommendation. This class should not be the student's first exposure to the business of the US healthcare system. While there are no formal prerequisites, this course is designed for students with a basic knowledge of US healthcare either through past work experience or having completed other healthcare courses at Kellogg.
