As one of Castle Biosciences’ three original founders, I have had the privilege of helping the company grow from a small, early-stage organization into a leading diagnostics company serving patients and clinicians across the country. Castle began operations in 2008 and established its first laboratory presence in Phoenix the same year. From the beginning, our goal has been to better understand the biology of a patient’s disease and turn that information into meaningful insights that help clinicians make more informed, individualized decisions about their care.
Castle Biosciences represents the commercial diagnostics and precision-medicine segment of the Greater Phoenix region’s bioscience ecosystem, and our state-of-the-art laboratory in Phoenix is central to that work. There, our highly skilled team helps translate scientific discoveries into tests that clinicians use to guide important care and treatment decisions for their patients based on each individual’s disease biology.
Greater Phoenix has played an important role in Castle’s growth for multiple reasons. The region offers many of the elements bioscience companies need to succeed, including strong talent, respected research institutions, leading healthcare systems and a supportive and collaborative business environment. It is also a place where people want to live and build their careers, which is especially important as companies compete for highly specialized employees.
Synergy in the Ecosystem
One of the most valuable aspects of the Greater Phoenix region is the strong sense of connection across the bioscience community. Collaboration across the bioscience ecosystem is essential, with each organization bringing different expertise, perspectives and capabilities. For Castle, organizations such as the Arizona Bioindustry Association, or AZBio, have been valuable partners in helping us build relationships, engage with the broader life sciences community and contribute to the sector’s continued advancement. Organizations like AZBio help strengthen these connections, making it easier to share ideas, develop partnerships and accelerate progress that can benefit patients. That collaborative spirit is helping establish Greater Phoenix as a bioscience hub with real momentum, where promising ideas can move forward and companies can build for the future.
Importantly, the economic impact of our sector in Greater Phoenix extends well beyond the bioscience companies themselves. The sector creates highly skilled, well-paying jobs and generates meaningful revenue while also supporting local vendors, professional services, construction, technology and many other parts of the economy. It also helps attract experienced professionals, retain local graduates and create career opportunities in science, healthcare and innovation.
The Now & Future Biosciences Hub
The progress we are seeing today reflects years of planning, investment and cooperation across the public and private sectors. To build on that foundation, Greater Phoenix should continue expanding its specialized workforce, improving access to capital and developing more laboratory and manufacturing space. There is also an opportunity to tell the region’s story more broadly so that investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders better understand the depth of the bioscience community here.
I have seen firsthand what can happen when the right people, resources and partnerships come together around a shared purpose. Greater Phoenix has many of those ingredients in place. By continuing to invest in talent, infrastructure and collaboration, the region can become an even stronger destination for bioscience companies and, most importantly, help bring promising innovations to market that lead to better-informed care decisions and better outcomes for patients.
Kristen Oelschlager
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Castle Biosciences
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