SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a leading provider of life science tools for translational research, today announced the formation of the GeoMx™ Breast Cancer Consortium (GBCC).

The consortium is focused on using the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler to address some of the most challenging translational research questions in breast cancer by applying spatial analysis. Some of the initial projects that the GBCC is planning include studies that will explore the immune interactions in HER2+ breast cancer, responsiveness to immunotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), disease evolution in metastatic breast cancer, and role of the tumor microenvironment in molecular epidemiological studies.

Through the work of the GBCC, NanoString intends to develop a GeoMx Atlas database combining spatial and clinical data to enable meta-analyses to identify and validate oncology biomarkers in the spatial domain.

“By evaluating breast cancer with a spatial approach, we hope to expand our ability to understand the impact of treatments on the tumor, immune infiltrate and microenvironment,” said Sandra Swain, M.D., Associate Dean for Research Development and Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. “In forming this consortium, we are promoting the importance of engaging innovative approaches across multiple studies to ensure rapid progress in discovery of novel biomarkers which may lead to more effective means of treating breast cancer.”

“While earlier diagnosis and new therapies have improved patient outcomes in breast cancer, there are subgroups of patients with aggressive disease where effective therapies remain elusive,” said Brad Gray, president and CEO of NanoString. “We believe that by applying spatial analysis, the GeoMx Breast Cancer Consortium can help to address some of the most pressing needs in breast cancer research.”

Founding member institutions and investigators of the GeoMx Breast Cancer Consortium include:

• The Dana Farber Cancer Institute: Elizabeth Mittendorf, M.D., Ph.D.
• The Mayo Clinic: Jodi Carter, M.D., Ph.D.; Aubrey Thompson, Ph.D.; Fergus Couch, Ph.D.
• The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre: Sherene Loi, Ph.D.
• The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: Melissa Troester, M.P.H., Ph.D.
• Georgetown University Medical Center: Sandra Swain, M.D.
• The Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques: August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS): Aleix Prat, M.D., Ph.D.

Researchers that are interested in joining the GeoMx Breast Cancer Consortium can find an application at: .

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies is a leading provider of life science tools for translational research. The company’s nCounter® Analysis System is used in life sciences research and has been cited in more than 2,900 peer-reviewed publications. The nCounter Analysis System offers a cost-effective way to easily profile the expression of hundreds of genes, proteins, 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 GeoMx™ Digital Spatial Profiler enables highly-multiplexed spatial profiling of RNA and protein targets in a variety of sample types, including FFPE tissue sections.

For more information, please visit .

NanoString, NanoString Technologies, the NanoString logo, GeoMx, and nCounter are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoString Technologies, Inc. in various jurisdictions.

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