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NanoString Technologies

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NanoString Technologies, Inc
IndustryBiotechnology
Founded2003[1]
FoundersKrassen Dimitrov, Amber Ratcliffe, Dwayne Dunaway
Defunct2024
FatePurchased by Bruker and incorporated into Bruker Spatial Biology
Headquarters
Bothell, Washington
,
United States
ProductsnCounter® Analysis System, GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler, CosMx ™ Spatial Molecular Imager, AtoMx ™ Spatial Informatics Portal
BrandsnCounter®, GeoMx® DSP
ParentBruker Corporation
Websitenanostring.com

Now part of Bruker Spatial Biology, NanoString Technologies, Inc. was a biotechnology company focused on discovery and translational research.[1]

Products launched by NanoString Technologies include the nCounter Gene Expression System, the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler, the CosMx Spatial Molecular Imager, and the AtoMx Spatial Informatics Platform. These systems enable scientists to explore high-plex expression of genes and proteins in the context of tissue structure. NanoString products are based on a novel digital molecular barcoding technology invented at the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle under the direction of Dr. Leroy Hood.

History

The original patent forming the basis for the nCounter Analysis System was invented and licensed by The Institute for Systems Biology.[2] The business plan was written by Amber Ratcliffe and Aaron Coe and won seed funding in multiple business plan competitions.[3] NanoString was spun out of The Institute for Systems Biology and founded as a separate company in 2003 by Krassen Dimitrov, Amber Ratcliffe, and Dwayne Dunaway.[4]

In 2008, NanoString launched the nCounter Analysis System and began international sales operations with its first multiplexed assays for gene expression analysis.[5]

In 2009, Perry Fell, who had been CEO since 2004, left the company abruptly without official explanation.[6] Between 2009 and 2010, the company operated with an acting CEO, Wayne Burns.[7] Brad Gray, a former Genzyme executive, was hired as president and CEO in 2010.[7]

As of June 2010, the company was not yet profitable.[7] In an interview, Gray suggested that NanoString would begin to develop clinical diagnostics.[7] As of July 2012, NanoString began indicating a move towards becoming a public company by hiring several senior staff with public company experience.[8]

In 2013, the company's IPO raised funding to expand NanoString sales and marketing.[1] NanoString's first spatial biology platform, the GeoMx DSP, was launched in 2019, enabling highly multiplexed spatial profiling of RNA and protein targets in various sample types, including FFPE tissue sections.[9]

On February 4, 2024, NanoString Technologies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after laying off 20% of its workforce in October 2023. The company began exploring options to support its restructuring, including a potential sale of itself.[10]

On April 19, 2024, the sale of NanoString Technologies to the Bruker Corporation was approved and later that month Bruker announced a definitive acquisition agreement had been entered between the companies. Bruker acquired the assets and rights associated with NanoString's business for $392.6 million in cash.[11] Following the acquisition, Bruker formed Bruker Spatial Biology, a new division comprised of the assets from NanoString, Canopy Biosciences, and Bruker Spatial Genomics (formerly known as Acuity Spatial Genomics).[12]

Technology & Products

The term “NanoString” was originally used to describe a specific barcoded probe—a piece of DNA carrying a linear sequence of fluorophores—developed in the early 2000s at the Institute for Systems Biology. These “nanostrings” were stretched onto a surface, imaged, and counted for direct digital detection of nucleic acids.[13] After the technology was commercialized, NanoString Technologies became the name of the company as well as the broader platform brand, while the instrument itself was marketed as the nCounter Analysis System. Consequently, in scientific literature the term “NanoString” may variously refer to the probes, the nCounter platform, or the company.

Products

  • nCounter Analysis System: The nCounter instruments profile hundreds of genes, proteins, miRNAs, or copy number variations with high sensitivity and precision, using molecular barcodes and microscopic imaging in a hybridization reaction.[14][15]
  • GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler: Introduced in 2019, the GeoMx DSP combines whole slide imaging with whole-transcriptome gene expression for discovery with spatial context.[16]
  • CosMx Spatial Molecular Imager: A single-cell imaging platform that is FFPE-compatible and powered by spatial multiomics. It allows researchers to map single cells in their native environments.
  • AtoMx Spatial Informatics Platform: a cloud-based informatics solution with advanced analytics and global collaboration capabilities, which is expected to launch in 2022.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c Annie Zak (20 March 2015). "NanoString pulls in 52% more sales". Puget Sound Business Journal. Vol. 35, no. 48. Seattle: American City Business Journals. p. 39. ISSN 8750-7757. LCCN 99107105. OCLC 11683053.
  2. ^ "Patents Assigned to Nanostring Technologies, Inc. - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  3. ^ "UW startup wins second business plan competition". Bizjournals.com. 2003-05-27. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  4. ^ "biotechnologie.de". biotechnologie.de. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
  5. ^ "NanoString Announces Early Access Agreements with BCM and University of Miami". Technology Networks. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  6. ^ "NanoString CEO Perry Fell Departs". Xconomy. 2009-03-24. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  7. ^ a b c d "NanoString Hires Genzyme Vet as CEO to Lead Foray Into Molecular Diagnostics". Xconomy. 2010-06-29. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  8. ^ "NanoString Makes IPO Prep Move, Adds Finance Vet to Board". Xconomy. 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  9. ^ Hernandez, Sharia; Lazcano, Rossana; Serrano, Alejandra; Powell, Steven; Kostousov, Larissa; Mehta, Jay; Khan, Khaja; Lu, Wei; Solis, Luisa M. (2022). "Challenges and Opportunities for Immunoprofiling Using a Spatial High-Plex Technology: The NanoString GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler". Frontiers in Oncology. 12: 890410. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.890410. ISSN 2234-943X. PMC 9277770. PMID 35847846.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  10. ^ "NanoString Takes Steps to Restructure Its Business and Protect Its Mission to Map the Universe of Biology". Business Wire. February 4, 2024. Retrieved February 4, 2024.
  11. ^ Ward, Justin (April 22, 2024). "Bruker to Acquire the NanoString Business in an Asset Deal". Bruker.com. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  12. ^ Hale, Conor (2024-10-11). "Bruker spools up spatial biology division from NanoString, Canopy assets". www.fiercebiotech.com. Retrieved 2025-07-22.
  13. ^ Pierre, Laura Tabellini (2022-01-31). "Gx Profiling Made Easy: The Birth of nCounter®". NanoString. Retrieved 2025-07-23.
  14. ^ US application 2017081713, Kim, Dae; Ross, Paul Martin & Meredith, Gavin et al., "Multivalent probes having single nucleotide resolution", published 2017-03-23, assigned to Nanostring Technologies Inc. , since abandoned.
  15. ^ Geiss, Gary K; Bumgarner, Roger E; Birditt, Brian; Dahl, Timothy; Dowidar, Naeem; Dunaway, Dwayne L; Fell, H Perry; Ferree, Sean; George, Renee D; Grogan, Tammy; James, Jeffrey J; Maysuria, Malini; Mitton, Jeffrey D; Oliveri, Paola; Osborn, Jennifer L; Peng, Tao; Ratcliffe, Amber L; Webster, Philippa J; Davidson, Eric H; Hood, Leroy; Dimitrov, Krassen (2008). "Direct multiplexed measurement of gene expression with color-coded probe pairs" (PDF). Nature Biotechnology. 26 (3): 317–25. doi:10.1038/nbt1385. PMID 18278033. S2CID 9308000.
  16. ^ "NanoString Announces Commercial Launch of GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler at the 2019 American Association of Cancer Research Conference" (Press release). 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  17. ^ "NanoString Unveils AtoMx Spatial Informatics Portal at the 2022 Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) General Meeting" (Press release). 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
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