Introducing... Scale Biosciences

Welcome to the third edition of #TheStartupSequence and thank you for reading! Join me here on a bi-weekly basis, as I discover and discuss the Startup organisations creating the future of Genomics, Proteomics and Spatial Biology.

This week, I discuss all things single-cell with Scale Biosciences , a rapidly scaling San Diego based startup. Since launching out of stealth mode in late 2022, Scale have come on in leaps and bounds!

Established in 2020 by a diverse team of experts, Garry Nolan , Jay Shendure , Cole Trapnell , Frank Steemers , and Sean P. Scott , the San Diego based startup have a noble mission: to empower researchers from various disciplines and applications to unleash the immense potential of single-cell sequencing on a large scale.

Scale Bio successfully transitioned to their commercial stage in late 2022. Specializing in single-cell sequencing and combinatorial indexing technologies, they recently launched their first-generation single-cell transcriptomics scRNAseq profiling and analysis solution. This breakthrough offering sets new standards in terms of accessibility, scalability, and affordability for single-cell sequencing.

The lack of need for an instrument means running costs are significantly reduced, and library prep costs are down by 50% in comparison to alternative droplet technologies. Their products are already available worldwide.

This Summer, Scale Bio announced the addition of CEO Giovanna Prout and COO Jacqueline Fidanza . Prout returns to the single-cell world that “feels like home”. Bringing invaluable operational, commercial and technical knowledge following long tenures at Illumina , 10x Genomics and most recently, Deepcell . Fidanza will add operating expertise, leaning on a successful 30 year career in R&D and operations within the genomics space.

ScaleBio has garnered the support of influential investors in the life sciences tools sector, such as ARCH Venture Partners , BNG, and Tao Capital . Having raised ~$32million back in 2020, and following a successful few years of growth, it might be worth speculating there’s more to come in 2023. 

I spoke with Melanie Janczyk (Masuda) , Scale's Director of Commercial Development, to understand the experience so far.

As always, I asked Melanie to share some struggles and successes Scale have faced as a startup.

"One difficulty we faced, like many others, was sourcing everything throughout the pandemic, from plastics to people! A lot of our success is owed to holding on to strong values surrounding culture. Committing to this left us overstretched at times, but it was worthwhile in the long run."

Given these challenges and the areas in which you’ve found success, what piece of advice would you offer to other entrepreneurs?

"Focus on your customers. Early interactions and feedback are crucial to the success of a research solutions company. Customer Success = Company Success!"

Join me here on a bi-weekly basis, as I discover and discuss the Startup organisations creating the future of Genomics, Proteomics and Spatial Biology. A special thanks to the  Scale Biosciences team for their participation.

Be sure to follow #TheStartupSequence and subscribe. If you’re championing the next best thing in omics, and want to shout about it, I want to hear from you. Drop into my inbox any time – Courtney.Smith@CharltonMorris.com

#genomics #lifesciencenews #lifesciencestartup #spatialbiology #singlecell