SEATTLE—NanoString Technologies Inc., a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, announced in late April commercial partnerships with five leading contract research organizations (CROs) that expand access to NanoString’s Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) technology.
NanoString has entered into agreements with Covance, Cancer Genetics Inc., Core Diagnostics Inc., Propath UK and another as yet undisclosed CRO. These CRO partners will be able to market DSP services to their customers through a technology access program in advance of the expected commercial launch of the DSP instrument platform in 2019.
“Interest in our Digital Spatial Profiling platform is high, especially among biopharmaceutical researchers. We are excited to be working with innovative CRO partners to reach these potential early adopters through our technology access program,” said Chad Brown, senior vice president of sales and marketing at NanoString. “By joining forces with this network of select CRO partners, we hope to increase customer awareness of DSP, accelerating its adoption following our full commercial launch.”
NanoString’s DSP technology is said to enable the precise quantification of highly multiplexed protein and gene expression spatially for regions of interest across the landscape of a heterogeneous tissue sample. Regions of interest can be any shape and size, down to the single-cell level. Combining both multiplexed nucleic acid and protein on the same platform, the company notes, gives researchers the ability to spatially measure RNA when suitable antibodies do not exist.
NanoString says it has demonstrated the ability of DSP to spatially profile approximately 50 proteins and 30 mRNAs in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue biopsies using its nCounter platform, as well as the ability to simultaneously profile more than 1,000 mRNAs using DSP in combination with next-generation sequencing platforms.
Today, DSP technology can be accessed through the technology access program offered through NanoString’s Spatial Genomics Services research laboratory. The technology access program announced over a year ago has engaged over 30 customers, the company reports, enabling it and its collaborators to highlight the performance of DSP in more than ten abstracts presented at major scientific meetings.
NanoString and its CRO partners are currently accepting applications to run DSP projects through the technology access program. Companies that are interested in accessing this DSP service can either contact NanoString at TAP@nanostring.com, or inquire with the CRO service providers noted earlier.
The DSP instrument system is currently under development and is expected to be available for early access instrument placements late in 2018 followed by a full commercial launch in 2019. It is currently intended for research use only and is not for use in diagnostic procedures.
