About Us

Alithea (Greek): 'the state of not being hidden'. We like to think of it as "the state of DISCOVERY"

Our Company

From research to technology

Our story begins with a very concrete research need, i.e., to be able to run a large number of RNA sequencing experiments in an affordable and rapid manner.

To address this need, we set out to develop a new technology called Bulk RNA Barcoding and sequencing (BRB-seq). We published our technology in the peer-reviewed journal Genome Biology in April 2019 and, by the end of the year, our article entered the 2019 TOP 10 most read papers of the journal.

From BRB-seq to Alithea

As a corroboration of the scientific community's interest, we received several inquiries from labs and companies asking for support to establish our technology in their facilities (kits) or to run BRB-seq directly on their RNA samples (service).

The demand grew rapidly, we saw a gap in the industry, and so the decision was made to launch our own company.

Alithea Genomics was founded in May 2020 by co-founders Riccardo Dainese (CEO), Daniel Alpern (CTO), and Prof. Bart Deplancke (Scientific advisor).

At Alithea Genomics we are committed to developing solutions that simplify and streamline the generation of "big RNA data", which we believe will constitute the foundation of tomorrow's research and medicine.

Our technologies enable our clients to discover new biomarkers and develop new drugs at a fraction of the costs and time as compared to what was possible before.

Our Board

Daniel Alpern CTO and co-founder

Daniel is the CTO and co-founder of Alithea since its incorporation in May 2020.

Before that, he was a PostDoc at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in the Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics run by Prof. Bart Deplancke.

During his PostDoc at EPFL, Daniel conceptualized, designed and developed the Bulk RNA barcoding sequencing technique which is at the basis of all Alithea’s products.

Previously, Daniel completed a PostDoc at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics (IGBMC, Strasbourg, France) and a PhD at Russian Cancer Research Center (Moscow, Russia)

Daniel Alpern CTO and co-founder

Daniel is the CTO and co-founder of Alithea since its incorporation in May 2020.

Before that, he was a PostDoc at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in the Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics run by Prof. Bart Deplancke.

During his PostDoc at EPFL, Daniel conceptualized, designed and developed the Bulk RNA barcoding sequencing technique which is at the basis of all Alithea’s products.

Previously, Daniel completed a PostDoc at the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Genetics (IGBMC, Strasbourg, France) and a PhD at Russian Cancer Research Center (Moscow, Russia)

Riccardo Dainese CEO and co-founder

Riccardo is the CEO and co-founder of Alithea Genomics since its incorporation in May 2020.

Before that, he completed his PhD in Bioengineering and Microfluidics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in the Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics run by Prof. Bart Deplancke.

During his PhD Riccardo has worked on and co-developed a number of microvalve-based and droplet-based microfluidic devices with genomic applications, such as Smile-seq, FloChIP, DisCO all of which have been patented separately and published in top-tier journals such as Nature Methods and PNAS.

Before his PhD, Riccardo obtained a Master’s degree in Nanotechnology at Chalmers University (Goteborg, Sweden) and a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino (Italy).

Riccardo Dainese CEO and co-founder

Riccardo is the CEO and co-founder of Alithea Genomics since its incorporation in May 2020.

Before his PhD, Riccardo obtained a Master’s degree in Nanotechnology at Chalmers University (Goteborg, Sweden) and a Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering at the Politecnico di Torino (Italy).

Frederik Decouttere Chairman of the Board

Since 2002, Frederik acted as CTO for Genohm, for which he has served and deployed bioinformatics and LIMS solutions for several fortune-500 life sciences companies, healthcare and R&D labs. In 2010, he was appointed as the new CEO of Genohm up until 2018 when Genohm was acquired by Agilent Technologies.

Frederik received his Master degree in Bioscience Engineering at the University of Ghent in Belgium. He focused on applying & evolving software architecture and patterns in the field of bio-informatics during the past 15 years.

Frederik Decouttere Chairman of the Board

Jan Van den Berghe Board member

Jan is founder of Novalis Biotech Incubation. He is a serial entrepreneur in the food and biotech industry. Following his education in bio-engineering, he worked as senior consultant for the Boston Consulting Group and as Independent Strategy Consultant.

Jan co-founded and served as director of Genohm, which was acquired by Agilent Technologies in 2018.

Jan also served as Director and Chairman of Oystershell laboratories, a world-class developer of innovative consumer healthcare products. The company was acquired by Gilde Buy-Out Partners in 2017.

Jan is co-owner and director of Lipa Holding, a family business in food and recycling, and is operating partner in Victus participations, an independent agri and food growth investment fund.

Jan obtained an MBA from INSEAD, and a Master in General Management from Vlerick Management School.

Jan Van den Berghe Board member

Jan co-founded and served as director of Genohm, which was acquired by Agilent Technologies in 2018.

Jan also served as Director and Chairman of Oystershell laboratories, a world-class developer of innovative consumer healthcare products. The company was acquired by Gilde Buy-Out Partners in 2017.

Jan is co-owner and director of Lipa Holding, a family business in food and recycling, and is operating partner in Victus participations, an independent agri and food growth investment fund.

Jan obtained an MBA from INSEAD, and a Master in General Management from Vlerick Management School.

Kaspar Binz Board member

Kaspar supports Alithea Genomics SA with his vast biotech company building experience.

Kaspar is founder and CEO of Binz Biotech Consulting GmbH, a company supporting biotech companies in their growths. He is also co-founder and chairman of the board of directors of arcoris bio AG, a company providing next-generation multiplex biomolecule detection technology.

Kaspar co-founded Molecular Partners AG (SIX/NASDAQ: MOLN), a Swiss clinical stage biotech company developing DARPin® drugs for therapeutic applications, where he acted in various positions from 2004 to 2019 including VP, CSO, and member of the board of directors.

Kaspar enjoys supporting the Swiss biotech startup environment by engagement in various juries and evaluation committees.

Kaspar Binz Board member

Kaspar supports Alithea Genomics SA with his vast biotech company building experience.

Kaspar enjoys supporting the Swiss biotech startup environment by engagement in various juries and evaluation committees.

Roger Kung Board member

Roger is founder and CEO of Holonautic, a leader in the VR application development space. Before that he was a VP of Business Development at Genhom, which he helped grow until the eventual acquisition by Agilent Technologies.

Before that, he obtained a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland).

Roger Kung Board member

Advisory Board

Prof. Bart Deplancke Scientific Advisor and co-founder

Since 2007, Bart is group leader of the Laboratory of Systems Biology and Genetics at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland), where he was successively promoted to associate professor in 2014, and to full professor in 2020.

He is currently vice-dean for innovation at EPFL. He is a cofounder of the Junior European Drosophila Investigators (JEDI) scientific network. Since 2013, Deplancke is a group leader at the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.

In 2011, Deplancke co-founded Genohm, a company delivering software (big data management) products and services for pharmaceutical and R&D laboratories, which was acquired by Agilent in May 2018.

In 2020, he co-founded Alithea Genomics, where he now sits as Scientific Advisor.

Prof. Bart Deplancke Scientific Advisor and co-founder

In 2011, Deplancke co-founded Genohm, a company delivering software (big data management) products and services for pharmaceutical and R&D laboratories, which was acquired by Agilent in May 2018.

In 2020, he co-founded Alithea Genomics, where he now sits as Scientific Advisor.

Reto Hartmann Business Coach

Reto is a business expert specialising in the pharma, biotech and medtech industries. He has over 17 years of management and sales experiences in the life sciences.

Reto is a former VP of Sales and Marketing for Sensorix as well as being a top Account Manager for a multinational B2B life science company (Life Technologies) and is an accredited member of the Innosuisse and Platinn coaching networks.

Reto did his undergrad work at the University of Massachusetts and Graduate work at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Lausanne.