Seattle-based biotech Parse Biosciences earlier this month moved into a new 34,000-square-foot space at the Dexter Yard development in South Lake Union.
Parse previously occupied about 14,000 square feet in the Omeros Building at 201 Elliott Ave. W. in Seattle's Interbay neighborhood. Parse co-founder and CEO Alex Rosenberg said roughly 55 of the company's about 100 employees are based in Seattle.
"We're very fortunate. We'll be able to grow into this space here," Rosenberg said. "This will give us room to expand the team and keep growing."
Parse, which spun out of the University of Washington in 2018, started at UW's incubator CoMotion Labs before moving into the Omeros Building in 2020. The company started with roughly 7,000 square feet before moving across the hall to the 14,000-square-foot space roughly a year later. Rosenberg said although the availability of office space during the pandemic certainly is a boost for companies looking for new space, finding lab space in Seattle is still a challenge.
Though the company officially launched in 2018, Rosenberg started working on Parse's technology in 2014 with co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Charlie Roco. Parse focuses on single-cell sequencing technology and allowing researchers to better understand the biology of an individual cell. Parse sells reagents as well as software to help clients analyze data.
According to Rosenberg, the company has raised about $50 million in total. Parse raised a $41.5 million Series B round in February, at which time the company had about 40 employees.
The company has a broad customer base, according to Rosenberg, including researchers in basic biology, neuroscience and oncology.
"We're making it very accessible so anyone in any lab can use the technology. You don't need any sort of equipment," Rosenberg said. "Someone straight out of undergrad can do an experiment if they have some basic molecular biology skills."
