Improved cancer drug delivery wins UB's Panasci competition
Jonathan Lovell (left) and Kevin Carter (right) are co-inventors of a new technology to deliver cancer drugs.
by Jane Stoyle Welch
Published April 30, 2015 This content is archived.
Kevin Carter, a biomedical engineering student from Georgetown, Guyana, and Jonathan Lovell, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, are the co-inventors of a new technology that offers an effective and minimally invasive way to deliver cancer drugs.
That is the idea behind PhotoZyne, a biotechnology startup founded by a team of UB graduate students that won first place in UB's Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition.
A “smart” nanoballoon is used to safely deliver cancer treatments directly to solid tumors. Administered intravenously, the drug then is activated by exposure to a special laser light probe. According to the creators, the focused delivery will help to decrease recurrence, resistance and side effects.
Carter brought in Michael Bisogno, an MD/MBA student of Smithtown, and Jonathan Smyth, a third-year law student, of Syracuse, to bring the product to market.
Their victory will earn them $25,000 in startup capital and more than $27,000 worth of in-kind services for the venture.