NanoString and Abcam Enter Commercial Partnership to Provide Expanded Menu of Antibodies for GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler

— Abcam to Develop Conjugated FFPE IHC Validated Antibodies Compatible with the GeoMx DSP —

SEATTLE and CAMBRIDGE, UK, April 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, today announced a commercial agreement with Abcam plc (AIM:ABC), a global innovator in life science reagents and tools, for the manufacture and sale of antibodies specifically for use with NanoString’s new GeoMx™ Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP).

“Researchers using our GeoMx DSP platform often want to customize their analysis. We have partnered with Abcam to facilitate access to their broad portfolio of high quality, validated antibodies to augment our off-the-shelf GeoMx Protein Panels. Abcam’s proven track record of antibody quality and performance was a key consideration in ensuring the success of our customer’s spatial profiling research,” said Brad Gray, president and CEO of NanoString.

Under the terms of the agreement, Abcam will leverage its collection of over 6,000 recombinant monoclonal antibodies, validated for use with IHC in either fresh frozen or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples, to create bespoke antibody content for NanoString’s GeoMx DSP platform. This will enable GeoMx DSP users to more rapidly dissect and explore cellular interactions at a local level and facilitate discovery of novel biology.

“We are excited to be partnering with NanoString to support the GeoMx DSP users’ ground-breaking research. Our recombinant monoclonal antibodies help ensure robust and quantitative spatial protein analysis of even the most challenging samples and may ultimately accelerate vital biomarker discoveries,” said John Baker, SVP of Product Portfolio and Innovation at Abcam.

Abcam will manufacture and sell GeoMx-formatted antibodies through its catalog and website directly to GeoMx DSP users.

GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiling

GeoMx DSP enables high throughput multiplex spatial profiling of RNA and protein targets in a variety of sample types, including FFPE tissue sections. The full launch of the GeoMx DSP platform is underway at the meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) being held March 29-April 3, 2019, and over 30 systems have already been pre-ordered. In addition, 13 posters are being presented at AACR featuring spatial applications using GeoMx DSP, including 9 presented by customers, collaborators and GeoMx DSP beta sites.

About Abcam plc

As a global life sciences company, Abcam identifies, develops, and distributes high-quality biological reagents and tools that are crucial to research, drug discovery and diagnostics. Working across the industry, the Company supports life scientists to achieve their mission, faster. Abcam partners with life science organisations to co-create novel binders for use in drug discovery, in vitro diagnostics and therapeutics, driven by the Company’s proprietary discovery platforms and world-leading, antibody expertise. By constantly innovating its binders and assays, Abcam is helping advance the global understanding of biology and causes of disease, which enables new treatments and improved health. The Company’s pioneering data-sharing approach gives scientists increased confidence in their results by providing validation, user comments and peer-reviewed citations for its 110,000 products. With eleven sites globally, many of Abcam’s 1,100 strong team are located in the world’s leading life science research hubs, complementing a global network of services and support.

To find out more, please visit www.abcam.com and www.abcamplc.com.

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies is a leading provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products. The company’s nCounter® Analysis System is used in life sciences research and has been cited in more than 2,300 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. 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.

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

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

Contact:
Doug Farrell
Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
dfarrell@nanostring.com
Phone: 206-602-1768

At Abcam:
Dr Lynne Trowbridge
Vice President, External Communications
T: +44 7815 167026
E: Lynne.Trowbridge@abcam.com