UM Professor’s Startup Company Places Second in Local Competition

Colby, a professor of biomolecular sciences and medicinal chemistry, entered his startup company, Fluoriq LLC, into the fourth annual event’s innovation and technology division. The contest is hosted by the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation in partnership with the Mississippi Small Business Development Center Network and Innovate Mississippi.

“It’s great because we’ve already had quite a few invitations to participate in other pitch events,” Colby said. “A lot has come from this already so it’s been a really good experience.”

As a new startup, pitch competitions are key to securing company investors.

Ten teams pitched to a panel of five regional business owners and entrepreneurial investors. Participating teams received business coaching prior to the competition and access to development resources.

Premalatha Balachandran, principal scientist with the university’s National Center for Natural Products Research, served as Colby’s mentor leading up to the contest. Balachandran’s startup company, PleXignal Laboratories, took home first place at last year’s event.

“My main suggestion to him was to simplify the details of Fluoriq technology using a relatable analogy and making it easy for judges without scientific backgrounds to understand,” Balachandran said.

Colby built his startup company on funding he received through the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning’s SMART Business Accelerate Initiative Act, as well as other state funding. The company has created chemistry that allows researchers to make solvents, solutions in liquids, with properties that can be tweaked for specific usage.

“This company is trying to create solvents that allow drug companies to manufacture pharmaceuticals more efficiently so we can help them reduce the cost of drugs or, more importantly, manufacture drugs more efficiently in the United States,” Colby said. “This has potential applications in pharmaceuticals, drug design and biotech.”

Colby serves as the company’s chief scientific officer, with Maryland entrepreneur Rustin Nadjmabadi as chief executive officer and Mississippi doctor Kirk Kinard as medical advisor.

For their Oxford win, Fluoriq LLC received $3,500 in funding. The contest served as a qualifying event for the fall 2025 statewide CoBuilders event hosted by Innovate Mississippi.