CAMBRIDGE, MA — CoFlo Medical, a start-up co-founded and chaired by Prof. Kripa K. Varanasi, has won the prestigious MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, one of the nation’s most prominent student-run startup contests.
CoFlo Medical is reimagining the way life-saving biologic drugs are administered. Biologics—highly specific treatments for chronic diseases like cancer and autoimmune disorders—represent a $500 billion market, growing at approximately 10% annually.
CoFlo’s innovative drug delivery device, based on technology developed by MIT PhDs Simon Rufer and Vishnu Jayaprakash alongside Prof. Varanasi, allows biologics to be administered subcutaneously. This offers a more convenient, lower-cost alternative to traditional methods, significantly improving the patient experience while unlocking broader access and adoption.
The company is already generating revenue through evaluation partnerships with major pharmaceutical firms, where the technology has demonstrated compatibility with several blockbuster drugs.
Earlier this year, Prof. Varanasi was appointed Faculty Director of the MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation, a role that reflects his continued leadership at the intersection of research and entrepreneurship. He is widely recognized for his pioneering work in interfacial science, thermal-fluid systems, electrochemical technologies, and advanced materials, with applications spanning energy, decarbonization, life sciences, agriculture, and more.
A prolific innovator and serial entrepreneur, Prof. Varanasi has co-founded several high-impact startups, including AgZen, Alsym Energy, Dropwise, Infinite Cooling, LiquiGlide, and now CoFlo Medical. His company LiquiGlide was named one of Time and Forbes’ “Best Inventions of the Year” in 2012. Infinite Cooling, another of his ventures, previously won the MIT $100K competition and accolades from MassChallenge and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Prof. Varanasi’s contributions to science and innovation have earned him numerous honors, including the NSF CAREER Award, DARPA Young Faculty Award, ASME Bergles-Rohsenow Heat Transfer Award, SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award, and the MIT Frank E. Perkins Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising. He has also been named to the Boston Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 list.
Prof. Varanasi received his undergraduate degree from IIT Madras and earned his master’s and Ph.D. from MIT. Before joining the MIT faculty in 2009, he served as a lead researcher at GE Global Research Center, where he received multiple awards for innovation and project leadership.
