The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship, in the Gatton College of Business Economics, is proud to announce that two University of Kentucky startups participating in the Entrepreneurs Bootcamp 2.0 Online Business Accelerator placed 1st and 3rd respectively in the 2024 GSE Collegiate Pitch! Through its 2024 Collegiate Pitch competition, The Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs (GSE) encourages innovation and entrepreneurship by engaging students from Kentucky’s colleges and universities with an opportunity to develop and pursue their business ideas. The competition rewards business models judged by an independent panel as the most innovative and complete, and the most likely to result in successful ventures that create new jobs for Kentuckians. The competition is organized and governed by the Governor’s School for Entrepreneurs with support from the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet and KY Inno.
University of Kentucky Winning Startups
1st place: $5,000 | NanoMed Adaptive Technologies
Maame Abena Afrifa is a University of Kentucky PhD Candidate in the Biomedical Engineering Department, College of Engineering.
NanoMed Adaptive Technologies seeks to deliver FDA approved drugs to the compromised sites topically and transdermally. The first proof of concept is the application of the technology in delivering Methotrexate to treat inflammatory forms of arthritis, burns, swelling and pain relief. The advantageous characteristics and selective interactions of our platform will facilitate controlled drug release into deeper cutaneous regions without entering dense vasculature. Additionally, the post-treatment effects of the drug will still be evident for a couple of days without requiring continuous application, which will reduce the potential for skin reactions. The market size of transdermal patches, in terms of revenue, is estimated to be $8.24 billion in 2022, with a projected CAGR of 4% from 2023 to 2028. Transdermal patches offer an efficient means of drug delivery through the skin to specific areas of interest. Their advantages include improved therapeutic bioavailability, reduced invasiveness, and lower systemic toxicity. However, there are currently limitations associated with these patches, primarily centered around their limited clinical translation, as most patches remain in the preclinical stages.
Looking ahead, NanoMed Adaptive Technologies will bridge the gaps between nanotechnology and medicine. The dream is to have a startup company that is dedicated to the promise of offering one platform that can be adaptive enough to deliver various drugs based on the disease mechanism. In the long term, this technology will potentially reduce cost and address the limitations of current topical and transdermal applications.
Email: maame.afrifa@uky.edu
Co-Founder / Principle Investigator (PI): Samuel Awuah, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Chemistry and Adjunct in Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Markey Cancer Center
3rd place: $1,500 | R.A.M. Medical Device Co.
Madison Bates is a University of Kentucky PhD Candidate in the Biomedical Engineering, and Makenna Pelfrey is a University of Kentucky Biomedical Engineering undergraduate student in the College of Engineering.
Patients who have suffered from a stroke or spinal cord injury often have impaired function in the upper limbs. This impaired motor function in the hands can severely hinder the patient’s ability to participate in activities of daily living. Current clinical functional tests (e.g., Fugl-Meyer Assessment) usually provide coarse composite scores based on several activities; moreover, they are time-consuming and require clinical experience to administer. To provide a more reliable solution, there is a need for convenient devices to provide a comprehensive assessment of these impaired hands.
R.A.M. Medical Device Co. seeks to develop a series of these medical devices under its umbrella. The first product being a sensor glove to track hand movement and applied pressure accurately and objectively for functional assessment in stroke patients. Currently, two prototypes have been produced and a third version of the glove is in development. Further validation studies with neuro-typical human participants are underway.
Email: mlba283@uky.edu
Co-Founder / Principle Investigator (PI): Sridhar Sunderam, PhD, Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Biomedical Engineering, Department within the College of Engineering