UB’s Panasci winners take second in statewide entrepreneurship competition

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- PhotoZyne, the startup led by three University at Buffalo graduate students that won this year’s Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition (Panasci TEC), has done it again—this time at the state level.

Michael Bisogno, an MD/MBA student, of Smithtown; Kevin Carter, a master’s student in biomedical engineering, of Georgetown, Guyana; and Jonathan Smyth, a third-year law student, of Syracuse won second place and a $5,000 cash prize in the New York Business Plan Competition for their company that offers an effective and minimally invasive way to deliver cancer treatments.

The student entrepreneurs competed against more than 500 student-led teams from 65 colleges and universities across the state in the sixth annual competition, presented by SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, the University at Albany School of Business and Syracuse University.

A panel of national venture capitalists, angel investors, investment bankers and entrepreneurs selected the winning teams.

Earlier this month, PhotoZyne captured first place in UB’s Panasci TEC, collecting $25,000 in startup capital and more than $27,000 worth of in-kind services for the venture.

With the startup’s technology, a “smart” nanoballoon safety delivers cancer treatments intravenously to solid tumors, and the drug is then activated by exposure to a special laser light probe. The creators say the focused delivery helps decrease recurrence, resistance and side effects, and will improve survival rates.

Now in its 15th year, Panasci TEC was created by the UB School of Management and the UB Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach, and is funded with a $1 million endowment from the late Henry A. Panasci Jr. to facilitate and promote the commercialization of UB-generated technologies.

Hosted by the School of Management’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, the event brings together UB students from science, technology, business and other disciplines to maximize their potential and create viable businesses in Western New York.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school also has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes and U.S. News & World Report for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State University of New York. UB’s nearly 30,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.