Daniele Foresti: Changing The Delivery of Drugs, One Drop at a Time

Hi! It’s me, Spiffy the interplanetary journalist reporting from Planet Earth with the latest scoop on entrepreneurs making a difference in healthcare for all of us around the world! Today’s rockstar is Daniele Foresti, founder and CEO of AcousticaBio.

Spiffy: Welcome, Daniele, can you tell me about your work and what challenges you’re addressing?

Daniele: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! You know, it is incredible what a new tool can enable for society. At AcousticaBio, we are harnessing the hidden potential of sound and microdroplets to make it easier to deliver novel, life-saving drugs. Right now, millions of patients must travel to a hospital to endure painful, expensive, and time-consuming intravenous (IV) injections. We can change that! We are making it as easy and safe as a flu shot, improving the quality of care for the most challenging therapies.

Pendant drop (Image courtesy of Daniele Foresti, Jennifer A. Lewis, Harvard University)

Spiffy: This is fascinating, Daniele! What motivated you to tackle this?

Daniele: During my doctoral studies, I was very lucky to discover a new way to make tiny droplets of virtually any liquid by using sound. It turned out it has the potential to improve manufacturing processes in so many industries—from decreasing pollution to improving the way drugs are delivered to patients. It feels good to have the opportunity to work on your own creation while knowing you can make an impact on the world.

Spiffy: I’m sure it does! How would you say that you’re working to create a more equitable world? 

Daniele: Well, Spiffy, I would say, start with the way you interact with your colleagues, friends, and even strangers! Be kind – life can feel stressful at times. Work for your team, and inspire your team to work for the type of society you want. For us, it is a society for which effective therapies do not compromise a patient’s quality of life.

Spiffy: Can you tell me about a recent milestone? What impact will it have?

Daniele: Our first milestone is bringing people together. Inventing something is hard. Creating a company out of it is very hard. One needs to think more like a community than as an individual. At the beginning, one might be obsessed with competitors, but in the end it is working together with your colleagues that makes big things possible.

Spiffy: Can you tell me about a time when you experienced failure and didn't give up?

Daniele: Well, Spiffy, if I look back at all the successful episodes in my life that make me proud, both personal and professional, I can see how they are intertwined with a good dose of failures! Failures are our best teachers: they have a lot to tell us for our own good, so let’s stay humble and learn from them. If you never fail, you never challenge yourself, right Spiffy? 

Spiffy: Absolutely! I’m curious if you have learned anything from something surprising lately. 

Daniele: Yes, Spiffy, the daffodils in my front yard! I do not take care of them at all and forget about them during the long Boston winter. But every spring…surprise! They bloom and they gift me with their colorful beauty. They inspire me for their resilience, and for their generosity: they give without asking anything back. It is a good reminder of how we should live our lives.

Spiffy: Before we sign off, is there anything else you would love to tell our audience?

Daniele: I’d love to share a quote from The Big Kahuna: “Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.” 

Daniele Foresti is an engineer and an entrepreneur. He is passionate about science, art, and social issues. He introduced a new fluid processing technology that can revolutionize the field of advanced manufacturing. With his company, AcousticaBio, he aims at maximizing the benefits of this toolbox to society. (Nominated by Harvard Innovation Labs)