Did you know that the prescription you picked up at the pharmacy likely once contained a host of toxic materials that were used as a catalyst for its creation?<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t panic. In the development process, the toxins are stripped from the medication, and the FDA has stringent guidelines ensuring its safety.<\/p>\n
But UConn chemistry professors Eugene Pinkhassik, Sergey Dergunov, and Ph.D. candidate Kevin Rivera have an innovation that they believe can offer a better, safer, less expensive, and more environmentally sound alternative.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited about it, because it could be revolutionary in the course of chemical manufacturing,\u2019\u2019 Pinkhassik says. \u201cAt the same time, it doesn\u2019t require remaking the chemical-catalyst process from scratch, so it is not going to be disruptive to a company, and it would be easier to adopt.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Their two-step invention, called Reactomol, was selected as one of five promising UConn innovations vying for the grand prize of $20,000 in the Wolff New Venture Competition on Oct. 25. The event is the School of Business\u2019 premier entrepreneurship contest.<\/p>\n
Innovation Is Like a Non-Stick Frying Pan<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI tell my kids it is like using a frying pan. If you cook something, and burn it, it takes a lot of effort to clean it up. But a non-stick pan is much easier,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cThat\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to create for the pharmaceutical industry.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWe came up with a new material, that is patented, that can be applied to existing processes,\u2019\u2019 says Pinkhassik, who is founder of its parent company, Tezrec. \u201cOur related invention is like a molecular \u2018Wiffle Ball\u2019 that allows chemicals to pass through it. These two inventions can bypass the need for extensive, elaborate purification of some medications.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n The Reactomol-treated products could yield substantial savings for pharmaceutical companies, while also having tremendous environmental implications. It isn\u2019t uncommon for a manufacturer to produce 200 pounds of medication and be left with 100 pounds of waste product.<\/p>\n \u201cEven if we make a dent in the process, when you multiply it by the scale of prescription medications produced each year, it really adds up,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cWe\u2019re not just saving money for pharmaceutical companies. Hazardous waste is everyone\u2019s problem.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Finding a Marketplace Strategy<\/strong><\/p>\n The startup accepted an invitation to participate in the School of Business\u2019 Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CCEI) program this year. During CCEI\u2019s Summer Fellowship, the team was able to address their dilemma of how to reach potential clients.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we gained from CCEI, and [business incubator] Accelerate UConn, was an approach to customer discovery,\u2019\u2019 Pinkhassik says. \u201cYou can\u2019t just show up at a company and ask them to let you in!\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cThey helped us connect to the right people,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cWe want to get our technology in the hands of people who design the pharmaceutical production processes. They will champion for us. Our approach now is more refined and focused.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n The scientists, who have a combined 30 years of experience with technology and the chemical-manufacturing industry, also got advice about strategy, budgeting, and refining their message to serve a non-scientific audience. Reactomol\u2019s strong business potential led to an invitation to the prestigious Wolff challenge.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s immediate plans are to apply for funding from the National Science Foundation, rent an incubator laboratory at UConn, and refine their prototype.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reactomol is one of five startups competing at the Wolff New Venture Competition on Monday, Oct. 25 from 5 to 7:30 p.m. The winner will receive $20,000 toward their new venture. To learn more about the competition or to register to watch the live presentation online, <\/em>please visit:\u00a0<\/em>https:\/\/ccei.uconn.edu\/wolff-new-venture-competition<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A molecular ‘Wiffle Ball’ that could add up to huge savings for the pharmaceutical industry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":178386,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2226,1731,2256,1862,2235],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-178385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clas","category-entrepreneurship","category-innovation","category-busn","category-today-homepage"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-18 23:35:52","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178385"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178385\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178387,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178385\/revisions\/178387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/178386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178385"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=178385"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=178385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}