Singapore Researchers Use NanoString’s nCounter Platform to Rapidly Profile the Response of the Immune System to the SARS-CoV-2 Virus

NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research, today announced the first publication utilizing the nCounter® platform and its leading gene expression panels for measuring immune response in COVID-19 research. Work published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe by a team of scientists from the Viral Research and Experimental Medicine Centre (ViREMiCS), a unit of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre (AMC), outline the differences in host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infections in their publication titled, "A Dynamic Immune Response Shapes COVID-19 Progression.”

(https://marlin-prod.literatumonline.com/pb-assets/journals/research/cell-host-microbe/chom_2283_s5.pdf).

In this study the team of scientists collected blood samples from 3 patients with different severities of disease throughout the course of infection and used the nCounter Human Immunology V2 panel for transcriptional profiling. Nasal swabs were also taken at each time point in order to correlate the results with the presence of the virus. Most notably, the study discovered key molecules in the blood that best correlate with disease severity prior to the appearance of the worst symptoms. This study demonstrates the ability of the nCounter Analysis System to quickly elucidate potential biomarkers and signatures of progression, which may be critical in understanding the pathogenesis of the COVID-19 virus and developing potential therapeutics and vaccines.

"NanoString has deep expertise in understanding how our immune system functions and we plan to harness that know-how in the global battle against COVID-19,” said Joe Beechem, Chief Scientific Offer and SVP of R&D for NanoString. "Our nCounter platform offers a simple workflow that provides rapid and precise results in infectious disease. In this study, our colleagues from SingHealth Duke-NUS in Singapore were able to generate valuable insights in only 11 weeks from sample collection to publication.”

The company also announced it has ongoing COVID-19 product development efforts for both the nCounter and GeoMx platforms to address the evolving research needs of the scientific community. The first research product, an nCounter COVID-19 Panel Plus Beta, includes content for measuring the SARS-CoV-2 gene expression when combined with any of the companies nCounter gene expression panels. The product is being made available through the beta access program at no-charge for scientists using the nCounter platform.

To learn more about the ways that NanoString’s products enable researchers to rapidly answer questions related to infectious diseases, including COVID-19, please visit https://www.nanostring.com/scientific-content/infectious-disease.

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies is a leading provider of life science tools for discovery and translational research. The company’s nCounter® Analysis System is used in life sciences research and has been cited in more than 3,250 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 www.nanostring.com.

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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