UB PharmD students named Top 10 finalists in national NCPA Business Plan Competition

The NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition is the first national competition of its kind in the pharmacy profession. It honors two champions of independent pharmacy, the late Neil Pruitt, Sr., and the late H. Joseph Schutte. The Pruitt and Schutte families initiated an endowment fund with the NCPA Foundation to support the competition’s annual operations.

Sponsored by Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Pharmacists Mutual and the NCPA Foundation, the competition challenges pharmacy students to develop comprehensive business plans for either purchasing an existing independent community pharmacy or launching a new one. Its goal is to prepare future pharmacy entrepreneurs for long-term success.

Representing UB SPPS, the SPPS chapter of NCPA entered the competition with team members Lauren Weydig, PharmD ’28, Cecilia Mak, PharmD ’28, Carson Spina, PharmD ’28 and Alexandra Yick, PharmD ’28. Their participation in the competition required significant time, collaboration, creativity and interdisciplinary planning across clinical care, finance, marketing, operations and regulatory affairs.

Their proposed business, NextStep Pharmacy, is a pharmacist-owned community pharmacy located in Clarence, NY, specializing in diabetes management and sustainable weight loss. Proposed services include compounded sublingual semaglutide, customized diabetic supplies, prescription synchronization and herbalist-led holistic care. A proposed custom app, MyPharmacyConnect, would allow patients to manage medications, track health goals and communicate directly with their pharmacy care team.

“What sets [NextStep Pharmacy] apart is our integrated care model, built through partnerships with local health care providers, endocrinologists and fitness centers—enabling us to deliver personalized, coordinated treatment plans that improve patient outcomes,” Weydig said.

To bring their concept to life, the SPPS team engaged in a rigorous planning process that involved:

• Weekly three-hour meetings with faculty advisors.
• Independent research and additional planning sessions.
• Collaboration with independently owned pharmacies in Western New York.
• Financial modeling and projections, including a startup budget, three-year pro forma income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet, all based on actual pharmacy operating cost data.
• Market analysis of Clarence, NY, focusing on demographics and health care needs, specifically on the prevalence of diabetes and gaps in personalized care.
• Service development, including research and design protocols for:
  • Compounded sublingual semaglutide for weight loss.
  • Customized diabetic supplies.
  • Herbalist-led holistic health counseling.
  • Prescription synchronization and medication adherence programs.
• Creation of a patient-centered technology platform, MyPharmacyConnect, integrating medication tracking, appointment scheduling, progress monitoring and direct pharmacist communication.
• Strategic partnership proposals with local endocrinologists, primary care physicians, fitness centers and dietitians to establish a coordinated care network.
• Marketing strategy development, including patient outreach campaigns, branding concepts and mock advertising materials targeting patients and prescribers.
• SWOT analysis, competitive analysis and risk mitigation planning to support long-term viability.
• Continuous editing and refinement up to the submission deadline.

“We believe our [Top 10] placement was a result of our hard work, dedication and commitment to creating a business plan that was both innovative and practical,” Weydig said. “Our team’s passion for community pharmacy and improving patient outcomes fueled our drive in the competition.”

All submitted NCPA student business plans were evaluated by a panel of independent pharmacy owners, business coaches, consultants, financiers and community pharmacy practitioners. From entries submitted by pharmacy schools across the country, the SPPS team was selected as one of the top 10 national finalists. While the SPPS team will not advance further in the competition, they received a plaque recognizing their achievement and will be honored at the NCPA National Convention in New Orleans from October 18–21. They will be formally recognized during the NCPA Foundation Awards Ceremony on October 19.

“This recognition means a lot to us as it reflects the time and effort we put in and strengthens our drive to improve patient care through innovative pharmacy practice,” Weydig said. “It’s inspired us to keep building on our ideas and refining our business plan.”

The team expressed deep appreciation for the mentorship and support of SPPS faculty and alumni, including Karl Fiebelkorn, BS ’78, MBA '88, Mark Stramaglia, BS ’81, Stephen Giroux, BS ’81 and past NCPA president, Christopher Daly, PharmD/MBA, clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice, and Nicole Albanese, PharmD, assistant dean of student success and engagement and clinical associate professor of pharmacy practice.

They also thanked Jon Vorreuter and Kevin Clary of Clarence Pharmacy for generously sharing their experience in pharmacy ownership and operations. “Their insight helped us ground our business plan in both professional standards and practical viability, especially as our concept was initially based on their pharmacy and location,” Weydig said.