FRIENDSWOOD, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a company improving health through innovative tests that guide patient care, today announced that it has received an AZBio Fast Lane Award from the Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio).

“Castle Biosciences is working to transform how diseases are managed with the goal of making life better for patients,” said Joan Koerber-Walker, president and chief executive officer of AZBio. “We are excited to honor them with a 2022 AZBio Fast Lane Award for their substantial growth and success over the past 18 months and the strides they are taking to improve patient care for the patients of today and tomorrow.”

The AZBio Fast Lane Award recognizes companies that have achieved outstanding milestones in the last 18 months, measured by clinical results, regulatory approvals, certifications, collaborations, funding awards, product launches, job growth or product sales milestones. Highlights of some of Castle’s notable achievements impacting patients, physicians and the healthcare industry over the past year and a half include:

• More than doubling its workforce, expanding from 201 employees to more than 480 between Dec. 31, 2020, and June 30, 2022. This includes substantial growth in Castle’s main laboratory in Phoenix and in the Company’s other locations, including its headquarters in Friendswood, Texas, and its satellite laboratory in Pittsburgh.
• Expanding the Company’s innovative portfolio of tests in areas of unmet clinical need (gastroenterology and mental health) through two strategic acquisitions (Cernostics, with the TissueCypher^® Barrett’s Esophagus test, and AltheaDx, with the IDgenetix^® test).
• Expanding data that demonstrates the potential value of Castle’s tests to guide patient care and transform disease management through the publication of 22 peer-reviewed papers and close to 100 posters and/or oral presentations.
• Initiating a collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to link DecisionDx^®-Melanoma testing data with data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program’s registries on cutaneous melanoma (CM) cases that resulted in a study analysis showing that patients diagnosed with melanoma and tested with DecisionDx-Melanoma had improved survival (27% improvement in melanoma-specific survival) compared to untested patients.

“At Castle, our impact on people is paramount, aiming to do what is best for physicians and patients and cultivating a culture of innovation, growth and development for our employees,” said Derek Maetzold, president and chief executive officer of Castle Biosciences. “We believe this steadfast focus and our enormously talented Castle team has been and will continue to be an integral component of driving our financial performance and business forward.”

About Castle Biosciences

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’s current portfolio consists of tests for skin cancers, uveal melanoma, Barrett’s esophagus and mental health conditions. Additionally, the Company has active research and development programs for tests in other diseases with high clinical need, including its test in development to predict systemic therapy response in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and related conditions. To learn more, please visit and connect with us on , , and .

DecisionDx-Melanoma, DecisionDx-CMSeq, DecisionDx-SCC, myPath Melanoma, DecisionDx DiffDx-Melanoma, DecisionDx-UM, DecisionDx-PRAME, DecisionDx-UMSeq, TissueCypher and IDgenetix are trademarks of Castle Biosciences, Inc.

About AZBio

For the last 19 years, the Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio) has supported life science innovation and life science innovators in Arizona. A key component in Arizona’s life science ecosystem, AZBio, is the only statewide organization exclusively focused on Arizona’s bioscience industry. AZBio membership includes patient advocacy organizations, life science innovators, educators, healthcare partners and leading business organizations. AZBio is the statewide affiliate of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) and works in partnership with AdvaMed, MDMA and PhRMA to advance innovation and to ensure that the value delivered from life-changing and life-saving innovation benefits people in Arizona and around the world. To learn more, please visit . For AZBio Awards information, please visit .

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning: the potential of our tests to guide patient care and transform disease management; and the impact of our focus on people on driving our business forward. The words “potential,” “will” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that we make. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: subsequent study or trial results and findings may contradict earlier study or trial results and findings or may not support the results discussed in this press release; actual application of our tests may not provide the aforementioned benefits to patients; and the risks set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2022, and in our other filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements are applicable only as of the date on which they are made, and we do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

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