Cancer diagnostics firm says it's growing on the North Side

After outgrowing its space in Harmar and moving to Pittsburgh’s North Side in May, Castle Biosciences has doubled its workforce.

The company, which specializes in cancer diagnostics, employed about 70 people in September and plans to hire an additional 10 more by the end of the year, according to Kristen Oelschlager, Castle’s chief operating officer.

Castle, which is headquartered in Texas and has another clinical lab in Phoenix, had operated out of U-PARC in Harmar. It had expanded from 6,000 square feet to 9,000 at that location before moving to a 20,000 square foot space at Nova Place in Pittsburgh in May.

The publicly traded company was founded in 2008 and employs about 600 people in total.

“Our new lab features state-of-the-art equipment and provides additional capacity that should allow us to continue to scale our lab operations in the future,” Oelschlager said. “The Pittsburgh lab is a critical component of our business continuity plans.

“We also have the benefit of access to Pittsburgh’s robust regional talent pool,” she said.

Earlier this month, the company received a clinical laboratory permit from the New York State Department of Health for its Pittsburgh lab, allowing it to provide test services to patients and physicians in that state.