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NanoString Technologies, Inc. Introduces Novel Gene Expression Panel for Immuno-Oncology Research

Reporter: Aviva Lev-Ari, PhD, RN

 

 

NanoString Introduces Novel Gene Expression Panel for Immuno-Oncology Research 

PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel Enables Researchers to Develop Profiles of the Human Immune Response in all Cancer Types 

SEATTLE – September 9, 2014 – NanoString Technologies, Inc., (NASDAQ:NSTG) a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, today announced the introduction of a new highly multiplexed gene expression panel for the nCounter® Analysis System, the PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel. This novel panel will enable researchers to create profiles of the human immune response in all cancer types, potentially accelerating the discovery and development of drugs, therapies and predictive biomarker signatures for immunotherapy treatment response.

The growing field of Immuno-oncology, aimed at leveraging the body’s ability to generate an effective immune response against cancer, has seen a surge of progress in recent years. New discoveries, immunotherapy drugs, and promising ongoing clinical trials have intensified the focus on this area of cancer research. NanoString’s PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel is designed to provide researchers with a novel tool to help facilitate new advancements in key research areas including targeting of checkpoint blockades, development of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) for T-cell therapy, and the identification of adjuvants for stimulating the immune response in the tumor microenvironment.

The PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel includes a novel collection of genes and offers a unique way of profiling the immune response to cancer. The new gene expression panel comprises 770 genes, including more than 100 genes for the identification of 24 different immune cell types, 30 genes specific for the expression of recognized cancer antigens, genes involved with checkpoint blockade, and key immune pathway genes for both innate adaptive and humoral immune responses.

NanoString’s new Immune Profiling Panel for immuno-oncology research was developed in collaboration with worldwide leaders in the field of immuno-oncology, including Dr. Jérôme Galon, Research Director at INSERM Laboratory, Cordeliers Research Center in Paris, France. Dr. Galon is a leading cancer immunologist recognized for his numerous publications in the field of cancer and human tumor microenvironment, and his work with the worldwide Immunoscore task force.

Dr. Galon commented, “NanoString’s PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel is an exceptional collection of genes that encompasses the many characteristics of the immune response and will undoubtedly provide valuable insights for all types of cancer research. By studying gene expression patterns across immune cell types, cancer antigens, checkpoint blockades, and genes involved with both the innate and adaptive immune response, researchers will now be able to construct an in-depth profile for how the host immune system is responding to cancer.”

“The PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel complements our recently launched PanCancer Pathways Panel and brings a new dimension of gene expression information to a field that has historically been focused on protein-based analytical methods, such as immunohistochemistry,” said Joseph Beechem, Ph.D.,

Senior Vice President of Research and Development at NanoString Technologies. “Our collaboration with Dr. Galon has greatly helped guide the development of this new panel that will enable researchers to bridge the gap between what drives tumor growth, and what attempts to control tumor growth, in order to promote a better understanding of immuno-oncology.”

The PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel complements NanoString’s PanCancer Pathways Panel, which analyzes all of the key cancer pathways: PI3K, STAT, MAPK, TGFβ, Notch, Hedgehog, Wnt, Apoptosis, Cell Cycle, RAS, Chromatin Modification, Transcriptional Regulation and DNA Damage Control. The powerful combination of these two panels allows scientists to look both at the immune response to cancer as well as the impact cancer has on gene expression across all major cancer pathways, creating a combined collection of more than 1,300 unique cancer-related genes that can be tested in parallel. The panels can be used on all sample types supported by NanoString’s nCounter system including Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE), whole blood or peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and cell lysates.

About NanoString Technologies, Inc. 

NanoString Technologies provides life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products. The company’s nCounter® Analysis System has been employed in life sciences research since it was first introduced in 2008 and has been cited in more than 500 peer-reviewed publications. The nCounter Analysis System offers a cost-effective way to easily profile the expression of hundreds of genes, miRNAs, or copy number variations, simultaneously with high sensitivity and precision, facilitating a wide variety of basic research and translational medicine applications, including biomarker discovery and validation. The company’s technology has now been applied to diagnostic use. The Prosigna® Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay together with the nCounter Dx Analysis System is FDA 510(k) cleared for use as a prognostic indicator for distant recurrence of breast cancer.

For more information, please visit http://www.NanoString.com.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the potential for the PanCancer Pathways Panel and PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel to accelerate the pace of discovery and development of drugs, therapies and predictive biomarker signatures for immunotherapy treatment response. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks associated with keeping pace with rapidly changing technology and customer requirements; risks regarding the company’s ability to successfully introduce new products; risks that new market opportunities may not develop as quickly as expected; risks associated with competition in marketing and selling products; risks of increased regulatory requirements; as well as the other risks set forth in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. NanoString Technologies disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. 

The NanoString Technologies logo, NanoString, NanoString Technologies, and nCounter are registered trademarks, and Prosigna and nCounter Elements are trademarks of NanoString Technologies, Inc. 

Investor Contact: 

Leigh Salvo of Westwicke Partners

leigh.salvo@westwicke.com

415-513-1281

Media Contact: Nicole Litchfield of Bioscribe, Inc. nicole@bioscribe.com 415-793-6468

 

October 6, 2014

NanoString Collaborates with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to Accelerate

Translation of Genomic Discoveries into Clinical Diagnostics in Oncology

BOSTON & SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)– NanoString Technologies, Inc.(NASDAQ:NSTG), a provider of life science tools for

translational research and molecular diagnostic products, today announced that it has signed a multi-year, multi-investigator

research collaboration with Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital to accelerate the translation of genomic biomarker

discoveries into clinical cancer diagnostics. Using NanoString’s Elements™ reagents, assays will be developed to detect gene

expression, copy number variations, and fusions from a diverse range of tumor samples.

NanoString’s nCounter® Analysis System is an automated and easy-to-use platform that utilizes a novel digital barcoding

chemistry to deliver high precision multiplexed assays across a number of important research applications. The research

collaboration will enable the researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to evaluate and analyze a repository of patient

derived tumor tissues for identification of gene signatures and gene expression profiles that typify a specific tumor type. This

knowledge is expected to fuel the development of validated diagnostic tests with potential to vastly improve clinical decisions

involved in treatment of cancer patients. Under the terms of the agreement, NanoString retains the right to license diagnostic

content developed within the scope of the collaboration.

“BWH’s ultimate goal is to augment the highest quality care we provide to all our patients,” said Jeffrey Golden, MD, chair of the

Department of Pathology at BWH. “This collaboration is designed to support not only the discovery of the underlying biology of

cancer, but the rapid development of clinical tests. Together we believe we will improve our ability to diagnose, provide better

prognostication, improve treatment stratification including qualifications for clinical trials, and conduct biomarker discovery and

validation.”

“We are excited to partner with Brigham and Women’s Hospital to accelerate the process of taking assays the ‘last mile’ from

late stage translational research to clinically-validated assays,” said Brad Gray, president and chief executive officer of

NanoString Technologies. “This collaboration builds on our growing suite of nCounter Elements offerings by combining Brigham

and Women’s Hospital’s world-class translational research capabilities with NanoString technology to develop robust, highly

multiplexed assays that allow researchers to move genomic discoveries quickly from bench to bedside.”

Scott Rodig, MD, is the lead investigator at BWH spearheading the effort with BWH physician colleagues Deborah Dillon, Jon

Aster, Michael Kluk, and Neal Lindeman. “Gene-expression profiling is a powerful tool for classifying human tumors that, until

recently, has not been amenable to the tissue biopsy specimens analyzed in pathology laboratories,” said Rodig. “Further, the

work-flow efficiencies of nCounter Elements reagents enable development of highly multiplexed assays for fusion genes and

CNVs, offering the potential to develop more efficient, scalable panels than those currently available using FISH or qPCR. This

collaboration provides the potential to translate many of the most important discoveries in cancer biology over the last 10 years

into the clinic for the first time.”

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies provides life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products. The

company’s nCounter® Analysis System has been employed in life sciences research since it was first introduced in 2008 and

has been cited in more than 500 peer-reviewed publications. The nCounter Analysis System offers a cost-effective way to

easily profile the expression of hundreds of genes, miRNAs, or copy number variations, simultaneously with high sensitivity and

precision, facilitating a wide variety of basic research and translational medicine applications, including biomarker discovery

and validation. The company’s technology has now been applied to diagnostic use. The Prosigna® Breast Cancer Prognostic

Gene Signature Assay together with the nCounter Dx Analysis System is FDA 510(k) cleared for use as a prognostic indicator

for distant recurrence of breast cancer.

For more information, please visit http://www.NanoString.com.

 

Investor Contact:

Westwicke Partners for NanoString Technologies

Leigh Salvo, 415-513-1281

leigh.salvo@westwicke.com

or

Media Contact:

Bioscribe, Inc. for NanoString Technologies

Nicole Litchfield, 415-793-6468

nicole@bioscribe.com

Source: NanoString Technologies, Inc.

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