Junhyuk “Jay” Choi had a dream of opening his own pharmacy. That’s why he enrolled in Northeastern University’s Doctor of Pharmacy program.
Because of the experiential nature of Northeastern’s education, Choi has had internships and co-ops at all kinds of locations, including big box stores like Walgreens and CVS, hospitals, and independent pharmacies in Boston’s Chinatown. I was able to work at a pharmacy.
Choi took notice last year when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced there was a nationwide shortage of Adderall, which is prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. He began seeing the same patients visit the pharmacy where he worked twice a day in hopes of finding refills and filling prescriptions. I did.
“The moment I saw the eyes of patients desperately trying to get their medicines on time, I knew I had to do something,” he says. “That’s how I decided to start this journey.”
Choi, who is in his third year of the PharmD program, is using Med Finder, an application that allows customers to access their prescription information, check drug availability at nearby independent pharmacies, and submit requests to pharmacies. We are in the process of launching. Fill out your prescription where it is in stock.
Med Finder recently placed Choi in third place in Northeastern’s Fall 2023 Husky Startup Challenge, earning him $1,500 in prize money.
Each semester, this challenge offers students the opportunity to participate in a series of venture bootcamps. Entrepreneurs will learn about various aspects of business creation, from ideation to prototyping. At the end of the program, students compete in Demo Day, where they present their business ideas in a two-minute pitch to a larger audience.
Choi said Med Finder will focus on independent pharmacies and doctors who prescribe drugs.
“Most people don’t know that independent pharmacies exist in their neighborhood due to lack of advertising and staffing,” Choi said. “However, independent pharmacies have about 30% market share of retail pharmacies.”
The app will notify the user when the drug is available. Patients will be able to transfer their prescriptions from one pharmacy to another. You will also be able to check the cost of the drug after insurance coverage and the distance from your current location to the pharmacy.
Med Finder helps reduce the amount of time a patient is off their medication, resulting in a more sustainable treatment plan, Choi says.
he wanted to be a medical professional
Mr. Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was 15 years old. During her high school years, she attended a summer camp at the University of Texas at Austin, where she was exposed to various fields of medicine.
He wanted to become a medical professional, but didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do yet.
“I’ve always thought somewhere in my heart, [an idea] I wanted to open my own business,” he says.
Eventually, he thought about pharmacology and it all made sense to him – he could open an independent pharmacy.
“I chose Northeastern University because I knew Boston was one of the best cities in the world for technology and healthcare,” Choi says.
PharmD is an excellent accelerated program that allows pharmacy students to graduate more quickly, he says.
In the spring of 2023, Choi attended a demo day as an audience member to support a friend pitching his venture. After seeing this event, Choi thought she might be able to take on the Husky Startup Challenge.
Choi credits Mark Yola, co-operative senior education coordinator and clinical assistant professor of pharmacy at Northeastern University, with helping him come up with solutions to drug shortages.
“Jay has always been a very curious student.”
“Jay has always been a very curious student and had no experience in pharmacy before coming to Northeastern,” says Yola, who started working with Choi in spring 2021.
Mr. Yola helped Ms. Choi obtain her first co-op at CVS Specialty Pharmacy in the summer of 2021 and her second co-op at Mount Auburn Hospital in the spring of 2022.
“My experience in the community and in the hospital formed the basis for my current project,” says Yola. “We believe Med Finder is a valuable tool to improve patient care because without drugs, patients cannot receive treatment.”
Yola also introduced Choi to Eva Choi, a Northeast graduate who runs Titon Pharmacy, an independent pharmacy serving community patients in Boston’s Chinatown. That’s why Jay Choi came up with Med Finder as a solution to drug shortages, he says.
Choi says the co-op has helped her become even more passionate about what she’s learning in the program and has been able to memorize the names of countless drugs. He also worked at Argos, a growth stage startup in the software development space.
“This experience helped me learn how a startup works, and later helped me organize and manage a team,” says Choi. “I really appreciate Northeastern University’s co-op program, which allows students to gain experience in a variety of fields unrelated to their major.”
Choi had experience in pharmacy, but not in writing applications or running a business. So he enlisted the help of two friends from the Northeast (one studying business, the other studying engineering). Another graduate from the Northeast, also an engineer, became their technical advisor.
“It was a great honor,” Choi said. “I am really grateful to my team of Tohoku students from various fields who helped my venture win this award.” [Husky Startup Challenge] award. We would never have succeeded without them. ”
While developing the application, Choi is working with IDEA, a student-led venture accelerator, to strengthen the venture’s business model and secure grant funding.
“I really appreciate Dr. Yola’s help in connecting me with various independent pharmacies. [I’m] I am also grateful to the various professors in the School of Pharmacy who gave me valuable information and always tried to help me with this idea,” says Choi.