The True Test of Success
Established in 2008, the company went public in 2019. Since that time, Castle Biosciences has experienced profound growth.
Developing advanced diagnostic testing for people with cancers and complex diseases can change lives. For Castle Biosciences, that culture is powering their mission.
Toby Juvenal
“I think the single most remarkable aspect of our company since our inception is our exceptional people-first culture. It is the most important thing we have here at Castle.” Toby Juvenal, one of the three founders of Castle Biosciences (Nasdaq: CSTL) and the Company’s chief commercial officer, is one of the architects of this inspired approach to success. “We work to foster inclusion in a collaborative work environment to allow employees to flourish,” he said. “We’ve done that day-in and day-out from the beginning.”
Castle is flourishing in their quest to develop molecular diagnostics aimed at improving health by helping guide the care journey for people with cancers and other diseases. Improved care can lead to improved health for patients, and that is the North Star driving Castle forward.
Established in 2008, the company went public in 2019. Since that time, Castle has experienced profound growth. In only five years, its workforce has expanded from 135 to 700-plus people, and total revenue has increased from $51.9 million in 2019 to $220 million in 2023.
Castle was founded on the belief that the traditional approach to developing treatment plans for patients with rare cancers using clinical and pathological factors alone could be improved by incorporating personalized genomic information.
The Company’s first commercial test, DecisionDx®-UM, put this into practice. This test, now the standard of care in uveal melanoma staging, was designed to predict the risk of metastasis for patients with uveal melanoma, a rare eye cancer.
“We knew there was an opportunity to improve health for patients with rare diseases, such as uveal melanoma, and wanted to make a difference for them,” Juvenal said.
While the Company has expanded its focus beyond rare cancers, its commitment to people, innovation, and its culture has remained constant.
Castle currently markets proprietary tests designed to help answer certain clinical questions and address treatment plan challenges facing physicians, with its core areas of focus including dermatologic cancers and gastroenterological disease. One of those tests is TissueCypher®.
“TissueCypher has a fantastic value proposition for clinicians and patients with Barrett’s esophagus (BE), a condition caused by chronic acid reflux or GERD that damages the lining of the esophagus,” he explained.
BE is the only known precursor to esophageal cancer, which kills about 80% of the people who develop it.1 Many people don’t realize they have esophageal cancer until they begin to have trouble swallowing, and by that time, it’s often too late. If detected early, esophageal cancer is curable.
The good news, Juvenal noted, is that now there are very effective methods to treat patients with BE to help prevent cancer. “The challenge is finding which patients are at the highest risk of their conditions progressing. That’s where TissueCypher comes into play. The test looks at the biology of the patient’s esophageal tissue and can predict their risk of developing cancer within five years.” It was the world’s first precision medicine test of its kind.
“We have seen great commercial success with TissueCypher and have continued to drive strong adoption among gastroenterologists, which we believe is a result of the value the test brings to their patients and to their practice,” he added. “We are always looking for the right opportunities to integrate into our test portfolio that will provide synergies with our current tests and add value for clinicians and patients.”
Juvenal pointed out that leadership in the companies he’d worked for prior to joining Castle had talented, incredibly hardworking people; however, he believes that organizations with dynamic people-focused cultures take the final step of employing those who “fit.” “We often say that if we continue to hire and manage to the principles by which we created Castle, then we will continue to succeed,” he asserted.
Juvenal commented that it’s the people who make the Company special, and as their anonymous employee surveys consistently show, people love working for Castle.
Castle’s people-first workplace culture has thrice earned the company a national Top Workplaces USA designation in addition to several consecutive regional Top Workplaces awards, accolades that Juvenal is particularly proud of.
“It’s people, people, people. That’s our vision. It makes it pretty darn easy to get up every day and go give everything we’ve got when we have a clear picture of why we do what we do. It’s for our employees, the clinicians who use our tests and, of course, the patients who benefit from our tests.”
1. Siegel RL, Giaquinto AN, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2024. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(1):12-49. doi:10.3322/caac.21820
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Castle Biosciences (Nasdaq: CSTL) is a leading diagnostics company improving health through innovative tests that guide patient care. The Company aims to transform disease management by keeping people first: patients, clinicians, employees and investors.
Castle currently markets proprietary tests designed to help answer certain clinical questions and address treatment plan challenges facing physicians. The Company’s core areas of focus include dermatologic cancers and gastroenterological disease.
Castle Biosciences is based in Friendswood, TX, (a suburb of Houston) and has laboratory operations in Phoenix, AZ, and Pittsburgh, PA.
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Corporate Office
505 S. Friendswood Dr.
Suite 401
Friendswood, TX 77546
Phone Number: 866-788-9007
Email: mediarelations@castlebiosciences.com
Homepage Link: https://castlebiosciences.com/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/castle-biosciences-inc-/
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