Two medical students at the Perelman School of Medicine, J.C. Lopez and Alex Sotolongo, first met playing against each other in high school water polo. They have now teamed up to develop a magnetic surgical device called Vesicon to improve vascular surgery procedures. With help from Penn resources like the Penn Center for Innovation and its DevelUPmed competition, they have formed a company called Angiio to develop their device. Their device aims to simplify and shorten vascular anastomosis procedures using magnetic forces.

1. Photos by Graham Perry
Innovators, Inventors,
and Students
J. C. Lopez (left) and Alex Sotolongo were
finalists in DevelUPmed, a competition to
develop new medical devices.

2. They first met as adversaries – in deep water. J. C. Lopez
and Alex Sotolongo were playing against each other in a high-
school water polo match in Miami. They became friendly and
later competed together at national-level water polo matches,
then went their separate ways to college. Both hoped to be-
come doctors. The two reconnected when they were accepted
into the Perelman School of Medicine. Now, as 4th-year students,
they have teamed up to conceptualize something that could, as
one experienced medical developer said, “improve efficiency
in a commonly performed surgery.”
Their experience has been akin to pursuing their medical
education while at the same time studying for another profes-
sional degree. Lopez and Sotolongo have had to educate them-
selves on the long and sometimes difficult process of procur-
ing a patent, obtaining financing, writing proposals for grants,
and finding partners and mentors. But both of them credit
their time as water polo players with providing a foundation
that gave them the mental and even physical power to keep at it.
And it all started with a drawing on a napkin.
Sotolongo was at a dinner party with his wife, Beatrice. At
the time, he was on a surgical rotation taking care of patients
suffering from vascular disease. The patients were treated
with state-of-the-art therapies, and the surgeons, Sotolongo
says, were “highly trained and extraordinarily skilled.” Still, he
notes, “there were often devastating complications.”
“I thought to myself, there has to be a better way, our pa-
tients deserve more.” For months, he pondered how the sur-
geries could be improved.
Then, at the dinner party, “an idea popped into my head,
seemingly out of thin air.”
Fortunately for him, Beatrice is the CEO of a start-up com-
pany and has served as a sounding board for his frequent ideas.
“I pitched the idea to her, and to my surprise she responded
with something along the lines of ‘This, surprisingly, isn’t
crazy.’ That’s when I knew we were on to something, and I
scribbled some rough sketches on a napkin.”
To move his idea from the napkin to the surgical suite, he
reached out his
water polo
buddy. They had
reconnected at
Penn Preview,
the second-look
weekend for
School of Medicine students. They communicated through
Facebook when they saw they had both been admitted to the
Perelman School.
Lopez had worked for Penn’s Center for Technology Trans-
fer, which was then incorporated into the Penn Center for In-
novation (PCI) when that was formed. He was part of the
program during the transition and had 18 months of experi-
ence with technology transfer and market analysis in all. He
picks up the story: “He reached out to me about his idea and
wanted some input about the intellectual property around it.”
Using the skills he had developed, Lopez was able to deter-
mine that Sotolongo’s idea could amount to a viable product
with respect to patent protection and financial opportunity.
As Lopez recalls, they started chatting about the idea to-
gether in December 2015 and then came across a momentous
e-mail announcement from PCI. It concerned a competition,
called DevelUPmed, to develop new medical devices. “We
both thought, ‘What the hell, let’s give this competition a shot
and see what can come of it.’ So, we submitted the idea.” They
were selected as the only student-run team out of the three fi-
nalists in the competition, which received more than 50 sub-
missions across Penn Medicine and the University.
Michael Dishowitz, Ph.D., is a portfolio manager for PCI’s
new ventures program and director of DevelUPmed. The latter,
he says, partnered with 20 investors, entrepreneurs, and indus-
try experts to identify devices with the most promising com-
mercial potential. “J. C. and Alex’s invention was at the top of
the list in part because they proposed a novel solution that
By Jon Caroulis
Entrepreneurs . . .
With help from Penn’s
resources and
connections, two
medical students are
preparing to put an
innovative surgical
device on the market.
FEATURE
FALL 2016 15

3. would simplify and shorten vascular anastomotic procedures” –
usually surgical procedures joining two tubular structures
like blood vessels.
Each team had mentors who advised them on forming a
company through Penn’s UPstart or UPadvisors programs.
They also participated in the “customer-discovery” program
run by Penn I-Corps, created by the National Science Founda-
tion to increase the impact of research it has funded. In addi-
tion, Dishowitz points out, the teams were advised by experts
on intellectual property, FDA regulatory affairs, and health-
care reimbursement. Each team in DevelUPmed also received
$10,000 for prototyping its project.
Sotolongo puts it bluntly: “Without the resources and guid-
ance that the PCI has provided to us, none of this would be
possible.”
Forming a Company, Pursuing a Patent
Sotolongo and Lopez have now formed their own company,
Angiio. All grants they’ve received for the project have been
awarded to the company. They are the only full-time employ-
ees, and they had help from two interns over the summer.
One is a Penn undergraduate engineering student and the
other a first-year Penn medical student.
“We’re now at the stage where we are finalizing our initial
prototype as well as developing our overall business case for
the product,” Lopez adds.
At the end of September, they and the other finalists made
their formal “pitches” to a panel of judges. The team whose
prototype was selected received $50,000 from the Ben Frank-
lin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Al-
though theirs was not selected, Dishowitz says that Lopez and
Sotolongo “are very talented individuals, and their company
has the potential to really improve medical care.” He points
out that the reviewers in the earlier competition were blinded
to the identity of the applicants, “so it’s certainly impressive
that their idea stood out.”
Their device would use magnetic forces in vascular surgery
to improve the way arteries and veins are connected by speed-
ing up the connection process and reducing complications. As
Lopez explains, the magnet will help deploy sutures that then
allow the surgeon to tie the arteries together in a faster way
than currently offered techniques. According to the Angiio
website: “Current solutions require hand-sewing grafts to ves-
sels and are regularly complicated by leakage from suture
holes as well as decreased oxygenation to the brain, kidneys,
and bowels due to prolonged surgical times.” Lopez adds, “We
are in the process of submitting our provisional patent and
continuing to develop our initial proof-concept prototype.”
But there is a complication, the two partners point out. In
the process of submitting their provisional patent, they cannot
publicly describe the mechanism in greater detail. “If we did,”
Lopez says, “it would constitute what is called a ‘public disclo-
sure’ and essentially eliminate our ability to patent the device if
the crucial aspects of it are made public prior to submission.”
Lopez and Sotolongo have a base at Plexus, where they can test their ideas.
PENN MEDICINE16

4. The device, now named Vesicon, will be 6 to 10 millimeters
long, small enough to fit into various arteries. In theory, they
say, a surgeon will insert their invention using another tool
they’re developing that will serve as a “guide stick.” Lopez and
Sotolongo haven’t yet figured out what material will be used
to construct the magnet.
“We’ve begun testing our deployment mechanism with a
makeshift electromagnet, made out of microwave parts, just
to understand the physics behind the idea,” Lopez says. “As we
continue to refine our product, we plan on
testing it on vessels to ensure we can deploy
the device through a vessel wall.”
Pooling Their Talents
It’s been eight years since Lopez and Sotolongo first met as
adversaries in that Miami pool.
“Although my main goal was to always beat his team, I
knew right away that I respected Alex as a goalie in water
polo,” Lopez says. “I always came into those games with a
strategy on how to score on him and knew I would have to
bring my A-game whenever we played each other.”
Sotolongo calls Lopez “one of the fiercest competitors I
faced in my athletic career, and what was most impressive
about him was that he would be the first one to come over
and joke around with the opposing squad, regardless of the
outcome. As I have come to know him in medical school, I
can still see that intense, competitive spirit permeating
through all of his endeavors.” What most impresses him, he
continues, “is his vision, diligence, and practicality. I can say
with a high degree of confidence that we wouldn’t be any-
where close to where we are if it wasn’t for the skills and qual-
ities he brings to the table.”
For his part, Lopez cites Sotolongo’s intellect and his ability
to understand a problem.
“I think we have been quite complementary partners, with
Alex focusing on the hard science and myself focusing on the
other aspects of the business, such as legal issues, financing,
fundraising, regulatory, and reimbursement.”
Sotolongo says he applied to Penn because of the resources
available to students in addition to the superb clinical educa-
tion it offered. According to Lopez, he applied for similar rea-
sons – as well as for the
opportunity to complete
the dual-degree program
with the Wharton School.
He started his studies there
this fall. The experience of
developing a product, he
says, “has solidified my
conviction to pursue a dual
M.D.-M.B.A. degree. I
have learned just how
complex taking a simple
idea such as ours from
point A to Z can be.”
In addition, he appreciates the work he did at the Penn
Center for Innovation office, which he says “taught me the
basics of intellectual property and just how important it is
to commercializing an idea.” He also learned the importance
of reaching out to people to get their advice and solicit their
help in making additional them help make further connec-
tions. In this regard, he adds, the Penn Med Alumni network
“has been invaluable.”
Through the alumni network, Lopez and Sotolongo con-
nected with Pitou Devgon, M.D., G.M.E. ’08, M.B.A. ’10, who
did his residency in internal medicine at Penn, then earned an
M.B.A. degree from Wharton in health care management.
Devgon now has a start-up company, Velano Vascular, which
he co-founded with another Wharton alumnus, Eric Stone,
M.B.A. ’07.
“I always enjoy helping entrepreneurs in the Penn commu-
nity, especially when they are passionately trying to innovate,”
Devgon says. “When I first saw their concept, it seemed
highly compelling.” Although he, too, can’t provide specifics,
he says, “It could improve efficiency in a commonly per-
formed surgery.”
Devgon has worked primarily with Lopez on the strategy
front, especially around the F.D.A. approval process and market
development. “People don’t know how much blood, sweat, and
tears go into developing even the simplest medical device. Put-
ting together the right interdisciplinary team and raising money
takes a huge amount of time,” Devgon says, “but that’s what lays
the foundation for great technologies to be developed.”
The Path to Medicine
Although they are now immersed in the business of medi-
cine and technology, Lopez and Sotolongo were on different
paths to becoming physicians.
FEATURE
FALL 2016 17

5. “My interest in becoming a doctor started in my high-
school chemistry class,” Lopez recalls. “It was then I realized I
absolutely loved chemistry and more specifically biochemis-
try. After thinking about it, I knew the only career for me was
to become a doctor.” At Stanford University, he majored in bi-
ology, with a minor in chemistry.
Sotolongo majored in biochemistry at George Washington
University, where he worked with Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D.,
the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in
1998. Sotolongo spent two years working in Murad’s labora-
tory. He also had the opportunity to be a co-author on several
papers with Murad.
“For about as long as I can remember, I have known I
wanted to be a physician,” Sotolongo says. “Since beginning
medical school at Penn, the reasons for wanting to enter med-
icine have become clearer.” The most important factor: having
the opportunity to interact with faculty members at Perelman
and witnessing at first hand the impact they have on the lives
of their patients and, more broadly, on our understanding of
disease and on the practice of medicine. His goal is to become
a cardiothoracic surgeon.
Lopez and Sotolongo might be budding entrepreneurs, but
they never overlook the fact that they’re still students. Work-
ing on their project, says Lopez, “has definitely required a lot
of extra effort on both our parts, but it has been an incredible
learning experience. We have learned an incredible amount of
practical, real-world skills in the past eight months from at-
tempting to develop this device, and I know this has shaped
how I view problems and solutions moving forward.”
Sotolongo admits that combining his classwork and work-
ing on their project is not easy, “but it’s what I came here to
do.” He emphasizes that Penn “is extremely supportive of
medical students’ pursuit of experiences in the basic and clini-
cal sciences, as well as a host of other endeavors.”
It has been a long journey since Sotolongo and Lopez first
encountered each other in a pool. But what started there, they
agree, has been an important part of their lives.
“More than anything else, my involvement in athletics
taught me the simple lesson that there is no substitute for re-
lentless dedication to a singular goal,” Sotolongo says. “The
most important lesson, however, is that it takes more than an
individual effort to accomplish anything of extraordinary sig-
nificance or importance.”
Lopez, too, believes his athletic career has shaped his work
ethic. “Playing water polo taught me exactly how much hard
work goes in to a single success,” he says. “More importantly,
it taught me that there are many failures before one can
achieve a great outcome.” That background has prepared him
well for entrepreneurship, “which requires an extraordinary
amount of dedication in the face of much adversity.”
At the Pennovation building, Lopez and Sotolongo, representing
Angiio, made their formal pitch to a panel of judges and mingled
with other DevelUPmed finalists.
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