Team ATHENA takes top prize at Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy’s 2021 Business Plan Competition

Putting students' entrepreneurial skills to the test

As the role of pharmacists continues to evolve, there is a push to leverage new technologies and redesign services to enhance the delivery of patient care. The Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (LDFP) Business Plan Competition provides students with the opportunity to hone their entrepreneurial skills by developing novel solutions to real problems affecting the pharmacy landscape.

Hosted by the Office of Experiential Education at LDFP, teams of up to four PharmD students put their creativity to the test, developing detailed business plans outlining their unique ideas, providing everything from detailed budgets to prototypes and more.  This year, approximately 300 students participated in the competition with the hopes of taking home the top prize of $5,000.

“I was so impressed with the high degree of creativity, innovation and critical thinking that was evident in all the pitch presentations submitted,” said Monica Gautam, LDFP Assistant Professor - Teaching Stream and Business Plan Competition Coordinator. “We are fortunate to have this competition for our students to develop and apply critical business and entrepreneurial skills in a positive and supportive learning environment. I am confident several teams will go on to commercialize their solutions to their identified healthcare challenges.”

Of the 80 teams that entered, six were shortlisted to compete in the grand finale competition on March 31, 2021, where finalists presented their business pitch to a panel of healthcare and commercial experts.

ATHENA – Wisdom by women, for women

This year, second year PharmD students Julia Giannini, Kari Griffore, Katarina Pessina and Veronika Polanska took first place in the competition with their innovative mobile application, ATHENA.

ATHENA calculates a user’s likelihood of pregnancy based on a number of customized parameters, including if a user missed a dose of birth control and where they are in their menstrual cycle. The user is then delivered with informed next steps based on their risk of pregnancy.

“For us, the biggest challenge was deciding on an idea that would have the most impact,” said Griffore.

“So we asked ourselves, ‘what are some of the challenges women our age face, and as healthcare professionals how can we help?’”

For team ATHENA, the answer was empowering women to receive personalized information about contraception and emergency contraception in a quick and private way.

“It wasn’t until we sent out a survey to our target group that we realized we were really onto something,” said Polanska. “Of the population we surveyed, almost 93% of responses indicated they would be interested in an app that indicated a risk of unwanted pregnancy, and recommendations for emergency or backup contraception.”

It was at this point that ATHENA transformed from a school assignment to an idea with real-world application. The validation from their research illustrated that this wasn’t just a good idea, but an important one.

“We understand that a lot of women may be nervous to speak openly about this topic, and could prevent them from talking to a pharmacist or other healthcare professional,” said Giannini. “By providing women with informed answers to their questions about contraception, we hope to end the stigma surrounding this topic, and promote more open conversations.”

The team won over judges with their innovative idea, who were impressed by the ingenuity of the student team, and surprised that a similar product did not already exist.

“ATHENA really demonstrated what's best about the business plan competition,” said Zubin Austin, 2021 Business Plan Competition Judge and LDFP Professor. “As a group of pharmacy students, this team knew and understood the nature of the problem they were trying to solve and its importance not just for pharmacists but most importantly for patients."

"Practical, impactful, and possible...the three components of a great business plan!"

With the competition behind them, team ATHENA shows no sign of slowing down. The group of students have plans to continue their work, and already have a few meetings on the books.

“We’ve been speaking with mentors, judges and past Business Plan Competition winners about what our next steps should be,” said Pessina. “We’re very proud of how far we’ve come, and are looking forward to the future of ATHENA.”

Other winners from the 2021 Business Plan Competition

2nd place: Polar Parcel

An innovative solution to cold-storage transportation with a focus on re-usable, durable, and practical package.

3rd place: RxCycle

A recycling service focused on smaller pill bottles that often end up in landfills. RxCycle aims to bridge the ecological gap to create a sustainable healthcare system.

By: Steve Southon