Castle Biosciences CEO Derek Maetzold has something to be proud about.Photo courtesy of Castle Biosciences

Some Houston-area companies now have some major bragging rights — and perhaps, an influx of resumes on the way. Inc. magazine has released its new list of the country's 250 best-led midsize companies, and four Greater-Houston firms are in the spotlight.

The Houston-area companies are:

  • Castle Biosciences, Friendswood, No. 126
  • Sunova Energy, Houston, No. 156
  • Cactus Wellhead, Houston, No. 224
  • National Energy Services Reunited, Houston, No. 228

For those brushing up CVs or ready to invest, Castle Biosciences develops and commercializes diagnostic and prognostic tests for dermatologic cancers.

To compile the list, Inc. evaluated private and public U.S.-based companies with 2020 revenue of $50 million to $2 billion, or a valuation of $50 million to $10 billion. With help from Pitchbook and Shango Labs, Inc. sifted through data related to management excellence for more than 10,000 companies.

"This inaugural list of companies represents the remarkable mid-sized companies, both public and private, often founder-led, that are at the vanguard of reinventing American business," says Scott Omelianuk, editor-in-chief of Inc. magazine. "With their leadership, all businesses will benefit from an exciting, competitive future full of possibilities."

Bozeman, Montana-based software company Snowflake tops the Inc. list.

Elsewhere in Texas, An Austin company is generating buzz as the best-led midsize business in Texas. Dating app provider Bumble ranks first in Texas and 40th overall. Here's how the Austin companies fared overall:

  • Bumble, No. 40
  • BigCommerce, No. 70
  • YETI, No. 91
  • Digital Turbine, No. 101
  • Open Lending, No. 137
  • Everly Health, No. 150
  • The Zebra, No. 170
  • Helias Construction, No. 177
  • Cirrus Logic, No. 180

As for Dallas-Fort Worth, these companies landed on the list:

  • Goosehead Insurance Agency, Westlake, No. 148
  • The Container Store, Coppell, No. 153
  • Sabre, Southlake, No. 181
  • Trintech, Addison, No. 184
  • MB2 Dental, Carrollton, No. 203
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This article originally ran on CultureMap.
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Axiom Space-tested cancer drug advances to clinical trials

mission critical

A cancer-fighting drug tested aboard several Axiom Space missions is moving forward to clinical trials.

Rebecsinib, which targets a cancer cloning and immune evasion gene, ADAR1, has received FDA approval to enter clinical trials under active Investigational New Drug (IND) status, according to a news release. The drug was tested aboard Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) and Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3). It was developed by Aspera Biomedicine, led by Dr. Catriona Jamieson, director of the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute (SSCI).

The San Diego-based Aspera team and Houston-based Axiom partnered to allow Rebecsinib to be tested in microgravity. Tumors have been shown to grow more rapidly in microgravity and even mimic how aggressive cancers can develop in patients.

“In terms of tumor growth, we see a doubling in growth of these little mini-tumors in just 10 days,” Jamieson explained in the release.

Rebecsinib took part in the patient-derived tumor organoid testing aboard the International Space Station. Similar testing is planned to continue on Axiom Station, the company's commercial space station that's currently under development.

Additionally, the drug will be tested aboard Ax-4 under its active IND status, which was targeted to launch June 25.

“We anticipate that this monumental mission will inform the expanded development of the first ADAR1 inhibitory cancer stem cell targeting drug for a broad array of cancers," Jamieson added.

According to Axiom, the milestone represents the potential for commercial space collaborations.

“We’re proud to work with Aspera Biomedicines and the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute, as together we have achieved a historic milestone, and we’re even more excited for what’s to come,” Tejpaul Bhatia, the new CEO of Axiom Space, said in the release. “This is how we crack the code of the space economy – uniting public and private partners to turn microgravity into a launchpad for breakthroughs.”

Chevron enters the lithium market with major Texas land acquisition

to market

Chevron U.S.A., a subsidiary of Houston-based energy company Chevron, has taken its first big step toward establishing a commercial-scale lithium business.

Chevron acquired leaseholds totaling about 125,000 acres in Northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources. The acreage contains a high amount of lithium, which Chevron plans to extract from brines produced from the subsurface.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in an array of technologies, such as smartwatches, e-bikes, pacemakers, and batteries for electric vehicles, according to Chevron. The International Energy Agency estimates lithium demand could grow more than 400 percent by 2040.

“This acquisition represents a strategic investment to support energy manufacturing and expand U.S.-based critical mineral supplies,” Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies, said in a news release. “Establishing domestic and resilient lithium supply chains is essential not only to maintaining U.S. energy leadership but also to meeting the growing demand from customers.”

Rania Yacoub, corporate business development manager at Chevron New Energies, said that amid heightening demand, lithium is “one of the world’s most sought-after natural resources.”

“Chevron is looking to help meet that demand and drive U.S. energy competitiveness by sourcing lithium domestically,” Yacoub said.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.