UB School of Pharmacy Alumnus Gives $5 Million to Strengthen Research Core in Pharmaceutical Science

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Gifted venture strategist and scientist John N. Kapoor -- founder, chairman and CEO of E.J. Financial Enterprises, Inc. -- has given $5 million to the University at Buffalo.

Kapoor's generosity will help strengthen the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences' research core, provide resources to create a state-of-the-art instrumentation center and fortify the pharmaceutical-science faculty.

The gift will be given over a period of five years and is considered a leadership gift in UB's $250 million campaign -- the university's first national-international campaign, the first university-wide campaign and the first to be alumni-driven, with campaign volunteer leaders from all over the country. It is the largest gift ever given to the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Born in 1943 in India, Kapoor received his undergraduate degree in pharmacy from Bombay University and dreamed of coming to the United States for graduate work. Financial support from UB enabled him to earn his doctorate from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1972.

"I've got a very strong attachment with the school and I've stayed in touch with everyone, especially Jere Solo and Wayne Anderson. I feel like they have excellent ideas to build the school and take it into the new millennium, and if I can do anything to help that I feel honored," Kapoor said.

UB President William R. Greiner praised Kapoor for his talent and his support of the university and the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

"John Kapoor is a brilliant entrepreneur and visionary leader in the pharmaceutical industry. Boldness, creativity and innovation have characterized his leadership of Lyphomed, Inc. and E.J. Financial Enterprises; he is a wonderful role model for today's UB students," Greiner noted. "He has demonstrated an unswerving loyalty to his alma mater over the years, as evidenced by his latest gift to UB. We are extremely grateful to Dr. Kapoor for his generosity, which will enhance pharmaceutical research and augment our pharmaceutical-science faculty."

Kapoor's philanthropy will position UB scientists to continue a research focus in rapidly developing research areas that will benefit human health.

"The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has developed a strong reputation of excellence, noted Wayne K. Anderson, dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. "It has a strong faculty and attracts a group of very good students.

"Nevertheless, we face a continuing challenge to build upon our strengths in the fast-paced environment of scientific and technological growth. This gift enables the school to move forward with its goals in education and research, and to continue to set new standards for excellence," Anderson said.

Kapoor began his corporate career on Grand Island, N.Y., as general manager for Lyphomed, a unit of Stone Container Corp. He was named president of the division in 1980, and in 1981 he bought the company for $2.7 million -- becoming chairman, president and CEO, and renaming the firm Lyphomed, Inc.

During his years managing Lyphomed, Kapoor increased sales to $172 million from $4 million. He sold Lyphomed and used $40 million of the profits to form E.J. Financial Enterprises Inc., which invests in health-care startups.

E.J. Financial Enterprises is invested in at least two dozen companies whose products range from opthalmics to experimental gene therapies for cancer and AIDS. Among these are Option Care, Inc., the nation's largest publicly traded franchiser of home health-care and drug-therapy services; Structural Bioinformatics, Inc., which uses gene-sequence data for drug discovery and design process, and Tech India Ventures, Inc., in his native India, a pharmaceutical marketing and distribution company.

Kapoor also is a partner in the Texas Biomedical Development Partners (TBDP), formed to provide funding and commercialization resources for selected biomedical technologies within the University of Texas System.

In 1987, he established the John Kapoor Graduate Fellowship in Medicinal Chemistry Fund in the UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and received the UB Distinguished Alumnus Award. He was awarded a State University of New York honorary doctorate in science during UB's commencement last May.

For information on how you can support the University at Buffalo, go to http://www.buffalo.edu/giving.