NanoString Technologies and HalioDx Enter Into Collaboration Agreement to Jointly Develop and Commercialize Novel Gene Expression Assays in Immuno-oncology


SEATTLE and MARSEILLE, France, April 11, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, and HalioDx SAS, a diagnostic company in immuno-oncology, today announced they have entered into an agreement to jointly develop and commercialize advanced gene expression assays for assessing the response to immunotherapies.

Under this collaboration agreement, NanoString and HalioDx will jointly develop innovative immune gene expression assays on the NanoString nCounter® Analysis System based on discoveries of Dr. Jérôme Galon, Research Director at the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (Inserm) and his team (Inserm UMRS1138) at Cordeliers Research Center. NanoString and HalioDx will jointly offer products and associated services to academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers worldwide.

The products and services to be developed under the collaboration will enable researchers and drug developers to use assays to assess responses to immunotherapies and select patients who are most likely to benefit from the therapies. This collaboration expands both companies’ leadership in precision immuno-oncology and offers the potential for companion diagnostic collaborations with biopharmaceutical partners in the future.

“HalioDx is very excited to jointly develop with NanoString our innovative predictive and prognostic immune gene expression signatures on the nCounter platform, one of the best multi-analyte testing platforms for translating gene expression signatures to routine diagnostic use. At HalioDx, we want to develop diagnostic solutions that can be easily used in routine clinical practice settings and we selected the nCounter platform because of its robustness, turn-around time, and compatibility with formalin-fixed-paraffin-embedded tissue samples. Our co-developed immune gene expression assays will complement the breakthrough Immunoscore® IHC assay, to foster the development of more precise immunotherapies,” said Vincent Fert, co-founder and CEO of HalioDx.

“This collaboration with HalioDx adds another powerful tool to the nCounter immuno-oncology toolkit to support our customers’ efforts in developing clinically validated predictive biomarkers for cancer immunotherapies. With the ability to process small tissue samples with minimal hands-on time, NanoString's nCounter technology provides a powerful solution to researchers and drug developers who are in search of biomarkers for precision oncology, and is ideally suited to answering complex questions in translational research in the field of immuno-oncology,” said Brad Gray, President and Chief Executive Officer of NanoString Technologies.

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 1,000 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 technology is also being used in diagnostics. 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. In addition, the company is collaborating with multiple biopharmaceutical companies in the development of companion diagnostic tests for various cancer therapies, helping to realize the promise of precision oncology.

For more information, please visit www.nanostring.com.

About HalioDx SAS

The Immune Response to Cancer Diagnostics. By precisely measuring the immune reaction in and around the tumor, HalioDx tests allow the clinician to determine the degree of severity of the patient’s disease and predict the response to treatment, regardless of the cancer stage or the molecular class.

HalioDx designs and develops a unique range of immune scoring tests, whose first-in-class product is Immunoscore®. Considered a future diagnostic standard in Oncology, this biomarker has already demonstrated strong prognostic value in colorectal cancer.

HalioDx was founded in 2014 by the former management team of Ipsogen (leader in the molecular diagnosis of leukemia), and a pioneer in integrative immunology and oncology, Dr. Jérôme Galon.

HalioDx has an experienced team of 80 employees and compliant facilities to develop, manufacture, deliver and market in vitro diagnostic products and services in immuno-oncology.

For more information, please visit www.haliodx.com.

HalioDx and Immunoscore are registered trademarks.

Forward-Looking Statements - NanoString

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding plans to jointly develop and commercialize advanced gene expression assays for assessing the response to immunotherapies on NanoString’s nCounter system, the use of such assays to enable customers to more efficiently predict clinical outcomes for cancer immunotherapies, and the potential for companion diagnostic collaborations with biopharmaceutical partners in the future. 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 develop and commercialize 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, nCounter and Prosigna are registered trademarks of NanoString Technologies, Inc.


            

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