Veracyte has executed a definitive agreement with NanoString for the exclusive global license to the nCounter® platform for diagnostic use. The strategic transaction positions Veracyte to expand its genomic diagnostics business globally, with the ability to deliver its advanced genomic tests to physicians and their patients via hospital and clinical laboratories throughout the European Union and other parts of the world.
Veracyte is a leading genomic diagnostics company that improves patient care by providing answers to clinical questions that inform diagnosis and treatment decisions without the need for costly, risky surgeries that are often unnecessary. The company’s products uniquely combine RNA whole-transcriptome sequencing and machine learning to deliver results that give patients and physicians a clear path forward. Since its founding in 2008, Veracyte has commercialized seven genomic tests and is transforming the diagnosis of thyroid cancer, lung cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Veracyte is based in South San Francisco, California.
Founded in 2003, headquartered in Seattle, West Coast, USA, 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 2,700 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.
Veracyte expects to begin offering its Envisia® classifier, for use in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis, to international customers in 2021 as a kit-based test that runs on the nCounter system. The company expects its in-development nasal swab classifier, for use in lung cancer diagnosis, to follow on the nCounter system in 2022, after the test becomes available in Veracyte’s CLIA laboratory in the United States in early 2021. The nCounter system can also run additional genomic tests developed by Veracyte, as well as by potential diagnostics or biopharmaceutical partners seeking access to global markets.
As part of the transaction, Veracyte has also acquired the NanoString Prosigna® breast cancer prognostic test and in-development LymphMark™ lymphoma subtyping assay, further expanding the company’s oncology portfolio.
Veracyte expects the expertise of the key technical team that will join the company as part of the transaction to facilitate test integration. Veracyte’s product discovery and certain commercial products will continue to be powered by its RNA whole-transcriptome sequencing platform, enabling continued expansion of its world-class biorepositories of patient samples in key clinical indications.
“NanoString has developed a versatile, world-class diagnostics platform, which we believe will enable us to realize our vision of becoming a leading global provider of advanced genomic testing.” … “We are especially excited about the opportunity to bring our noninvasive nasal swab classifier to a global market, where it can help save more lives in the fight against lung cancer. Ultimately, this transaction will further our ability to inform clinical care decisions throughout the patient journey in cancer and other clinical indications, while allowing us to deliver profitable, long-term growth for our shareholders.” – Bonnie H. Anderson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Veracyte
“Veracyte is a world-class diagnostics company with an expanding menu of innovative genomic tests that are well-positioned for successful global commercialization.” … “They are the ideal company to help ensure that our nCounter-based diagnostic platform can benefit as many patients around the world as possible.” – Brad Gray, President and Chief Executive Officer, NanoString
Sources
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191203005990/en/Veracyte-Acquires-Exclusive-License-NanoString-Diagnostics-Platform
- https://www.linkedin.com/company/nanostring-technologies/about/
- https://www.nanostring.com/scientific-content/technology-overview/ncounter-technology
