When the Italian entrepreneur Andrea Riposati identified a gap in the market for accessible genomic testing services, he co-founded Dante Labs, which has been serving consumers, medical practitioners, and researchers since 2016. Now a leading genomics company, Dante Labs’ mission is to offer affordable whole genome sequencing to people everywhere.
Here, we’ll explore how the company is driving innovation in the healthcare sector and widening consumer access to genomic testing on a global scale.
Andrea Riposati’s Entrepreneurial Background
Riposati’s entrepreneurial spirit was apparent early in his life: As a high school student in 1999, he and his friend Mattia Capulli created a web design agency. After an internship with IBM (the International Business Machines Corporation), Riposati took on a role as a strategy and management consultant in digital and healthcare at Booz Allen Hamilton. He then became an associate at PwC Strategy&.
From 2011 until 2014, Riposati worked as a senior product manager at Amazon in New York and Seattle, implementing the Amazon B2B Marketplace and Amazon 3D Printing Store. Afterwards, he became the CEO and chairman of the business-to-business digital software and consulting company Muse Technologies.
His career as a business innovator led Riposati to understand that private organisations, rather than governments, tend to have the largest impact on people’s lives. The entrepreneur decided the best way to change the world would be to establish a company with the power to make a difference.
Why Andrea Riposati Launched Dante Labs
Andrea Riposati came up with his business mission after a friend who lived in New York City experienced difficulty obtaining a whole genome sequencing test.
On looking into the field of genomics, Riposati discovered two things:
- The life-changing potential of genomics, especially for individuals with rare diseases and cancer.
- The large gap between advances in genomic technology and the availability of genomics services and products to consumers around the world.
If it was a struggle to obtain a genomic test in New York, Riposati reasoned that individuals who lived in more remote locations had even less access to sequencing technologies, and likely at higher costs.
This gap in the market for solutions in remote locations reminded Riposati of a time in his childhood when he wanted to buy a book that was out of print in his small town in Italy. When Amazon hit the marketplace in the late nineties, he could easily order the book from the U.S. Risposati decided that a similar solution needed to exist for cost-effective genome sequencing so that anyone, anywhere, could access this sequencing.
Seeing an opportunity to make a difference, Riposati and Capulli founded Dante Labs. Riposati became the company’s chief executive officer and Capulli, a specialist in biotechnology and genetics, became the chief technology officer.
Andrea Riposati on Driving Innovation in the Healthcare Industry
After launching Dante Labs, Riposati soon realised that many organisations in the genomics industry, and the wider healthcare sector, were using outdated technologies. As a result, companies weren’t maximising the potential of services and products for patients.
Rather than waiting for the genomics industry to change, Riposati fuelled Dante Labs’ adoption of new technologies. By embracing technological advances like artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, Dante Labs could provide people everywhere with an invaluable, life-enhancing tool.
Why It’s Important to Make Genomic Testing Available to Everyone
Riposati describes Dante Labs as a user-centric company that always keeps the end user’s needs in mind during operational decision-making. Hence the company’s mission: to make the best genomic technologies accessible to consumers in every country at one affordable price.
Historically, consumers in well-connected, urban locations (like cities in the U.S. or UK) have gained access to genome sequencing tests earlier than those who live elsewhere. The genomic market has tended to underserve or neglect consumers in remote locations, especially those who don’t live near a hospital or clinic.
Even when consumers could access sequencing technologies, the products and services were typically higher in price. Riposati blames the genomic industry’s large, mid-level infrastructure, which comprises many “middlemen.” He took inspiration from Amazon’s business model to sidestep this issue and enable consumers everywhere to access superior whole genome sequencing directly from Dante Labs.
Andrea Riposati Explains Why Dante Labs Is Growing Rapidly
Riposati’s experience in data analytics and product management helped Dante Labs quickly develop into a global leader in genomics. Today, the company’s international logistics network allows Dante Labs to offer a high-quality service to medical practices and consumers in 97 countries.
Riposati credits this rapid growth to two strategies:
- Collaborating with specialist partners.
- Developing a network of local labs.
Specialist Partners
Dante Labs increasingly collaborates with various specialist partners, including clinics, patient care organisations, and rare disease advocacy groups. The company leverages its sequencing technology to design and provide custom solutions that meet these partners’ precise needs.
For example, Dante Labs provides unique whole genome sequencing solutions to some African countries. Without the company’s assistance, these countries would lack the infrastructure of local labs or global logistics to conduct population-scale genomic testing.
Local Labs
Dante Labs’ growth is also down to the company’s network of local labs. The benefits of this network include:
- Increased customer trust. Keeping sequencing local means consumers have greater trust in the company as they know their DNA samples won’t travel far.
- Region-specific expertise. Scientists in local labs have more experience with the diseases and medical issues that are prevalent in their regions.
- A better service that complies with local regulations. More countries than ever are introducing laws that demand DNA samples and genomic data don’t cross borders. For instance, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR) have made it challenging to transport samples to the United States. Local labs allow Dante Labs to offer patients and doctors in those areas the best service possible while complying with the region’s genomic and data regulations.
- Faster access to genome sequencing products and services. Similar to Amazon’s method of placing fulfilment centres close to key locations (which allows the company’s customers to receive their items more quickly), Dante Labs’ local hubs allow faster access to genomic tests and results.
By working with local labs, Dante Labs can provide consumers with a sequencing service that combines region-specific benefits with the power of a global company.
The scale of Dante Labs’ logistics infrastructure and its AI-enhanced database, paired with its network of local labs, means Dante Labs can continue to make genomic testing affordable and accessible to individuals, medical clinics, and governments everywhere.
About Dante Labs
Guided by co-founders Andrea Riposati and Mattia Capulli, Dante Labs offers genomic testing and analysis solutions to consumers worldwide. Individuals in even the most remote locations can sequence their genomes and receive detailed results and actionable insights to improve their lifestyles and protect their health.
The company’s sequencing technologies also enable genomics researchers and medical practices to make pioneering discoveries and provide patients with accurate diagnoses and effective treatment plans. Some of Dante Labs’ clients include Imperial College London and Harvard University.
The company’s Medical Advisory Board comprises world leaders in the genomics industry, including geneticists, molecular biologists, and clinical experts who specialise in oncogenomics, nutrigenomics, and pharmacogenomics, plus neonatal, prenatal, and paediatric rare diseases.
Since the company’s launch approximately seven years ago, Dante Labs has:
- Obtained Cambridge Cancer Genomics, ensuring worldwide excellence in precision oncology (2021).
- Won the Best-in-Class Covid Analysis Service Provider Award (2020).
- Launched the first whole genome report powered by AI (2019).
- Reduced the cost of whole genome sequencing and analysis (2017).
In 2019, Riposati and Capulli won the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the EY Italy “Startup” category. The Award honoured Dante Labs’ ongoing efforts to improve genomics accessibility and the company’s contributions to local community development.
Dante Labs complies with both GDPR and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
