NanoString Technologies

NanoString Technologies (NASDAQ: NSTG) is a publicly held provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostics. The company's technology enables a wide variety of basic research, translational medicine and in vitro diagnostics applications. NanoString's products are based on a novel digital molecular barcoding technology invented at the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle under direction of Dr. Leroy Hood. The company was founded in 2003 with an exclusive license to develop and market the technology. In 2008, NanoString launched its first commercial instrument system and began international sales operations with its first multiplexed assays for gene expression analysis. In 2010, the company launched new applications for the system to support microRNA analysis and copy number variation detection, and in 2013 launched Prosigna®, its first in vitro diagnostic product for prognosis of early stage breast cancer. Organizations performing cancer research, biomarker validation and screening, and next-generation sequencing validation are rapidly adopting the nCounter® Analysis System. By providing simple, multiplexed digital profiling of single molecules, the NanoString platform represents a natural, digital downstream companion to next-generation sequencing and enables researchers to embark on studies that were previously inconceivable. Leading researchers and institutions are finding that NanoString's nCounter system provides the ideal platform on which to validate their discoveries and translate them into clinically useful diagnostic assays. The nCounter system is uniquely positioned to support translational research because it provides more reproducible results than methods requiring amplification, and generates high-quality data from the difficult sample types common in clinical research, including Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissues. In addition to continuing to extend the applications for the nCounter system in the discovery, target validation and routine testing segments of the genomics research market, the company's goal is to become the platform of choice for diagnostic testing based on multiplexed gene signatures that can be offered in hospitals and pathology laboratories worldwide, following appropriate regulatory approvals. These two synergistic areas of business focus provide researchers with a seamless transition from discovery to diagnostics.