“True wisdom is based on in-depth knowledge and experience, and often rests contrary to commonly accepted beliefs. If you intend to start a company that changes anything of significance, by definition the current view of the industry held by consultants, analysts and investors will not be one that you’ll be subscribing to.”
Sean GeorgeSean George co-founded Invitae in 2010 and has served as its CEO since June 2017. George has propelled Invitae from being an early-stage startup to an industry leader transforming the landscape of genetic tests and improving patient care. Before Invitae, he served as COO at Navigenics, an early pioneer in personalized genetics. Sean holds a B.S. in Molecular Genetics from UCLA, an M.S. in Molecular Biology from UC Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from UC Santa Cruz.
Sean George’s endeavors as an entrepreneur have been driven by his intense desire to allow more people to experience the life-transforming benefits brought by the power of genetics. During his career, he met many people who have had family members diagnosed with cancer or other diseases and thus experienced confusion and despair. These experiences keep pushing him forward to achieve his goal to make high-quality and precise health information available to everyone.
Sean George leads the Invitae team on its mission to bring genetic information into mainstream medicine to help improve healthcare for billions of people. The company currently specializes in genetic tests providing information for proactive healthcare, genetic diagnostics, preimplantation and carrier screening for inherited disorders, miscarriage analysis, hereditary cancer, and more. It is continuingly expanding the coverage of its services.
To accomplish the mission, Sean George and his team focus on addressing two primary issues along the way: cost and access. In 2010, the cost of genetic sequencing ranged from $5,000 to $50,000 or more for a single test. Now, the self-pay price for most of Invitae’s tests are driven down to only $250. In the meantime, Invitae has been striving to expand the outreach of genetic tests removing barriers between a patient and a test. It has implemented an online ordering system where individuals can order screening tests directly from its official website. Moreover, it has been actively cooperating with healthcare institutions to demonstrate the effectiveness of the clinical use of genetics tests.