On April 3, 2017 NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, reported the validation of its novel Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) technology by the current state-of-the-art AQUA method for quantitating protein targets in FFPE (Press release, NanoString Technologies, APR 3, 2017, View Source [SID1234518420]). The data was generated through a collaboration between NanoString and Dr. David Rimm’s lab at the Yale School of Medicine as part of a Technology Access Program for NanoString’s DSP technology. The data will be presented in a poster session at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) conference, being held April 1-5, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

"We are excited to be working with NanoString on their new Digital Spatial Profiling technology. Our AQUA quantitative fluorescence approach has been limited to 4-5 fold multiplexing, where DSP can currently multiplex up to 50 protein analytes and has the potential to measure hundreds of RNAs simultaneously on the same tissue section," said Dr. David L. Rimm, Professor of Pathology and of Medicine (Medical Oncology); Director of Pathology Tissue Services; Director of Translational Pathology, Yale University. "This brings many advantages, including the ability to include ‘housekeeping’ proteins for standardization of assays and normalization of pre-analytic variables. Because of the variable sized sample region, it is a perfect match for the ‘field of view’ assessment we do with the AQUA technology in our lab. We designed AQUA to measure at the molecular level rather than the cellular level, and the same is true of NanoString’s DSP."

AQUA technology, which was developed by Dr. Rimm, has been demonstrated to be both reproducible and quantitative when applied to tissue-based immunoassays. This study demonstrated that both DSP and AQUA are quantitative methods for profiling protein expression, eliminating the subjectivity and variability associated with conventional immunohistochemistry techniques. However, benchmarking against AQUA revealed several key advantages of DSP technology, including the high multiplex capability and wide dynamic range. These capabilities are of particular significance when profiling tumor cell specific protein expression from the complex tumor microenvironment.

"Localized expression of immuno-regulatory proteins shapes the immune response against tumors, and the detection of cell specific proteins can reveal the presence of important immune cell populations," stated Alessandra Cesano, M.D., Ph.D, chief medical officer at NanoString. "Spatial profiling of these key molecules could lead to discovery of novel therapeutic targets and signatures that characterize immunological responses. This could enable predictive biomarkers to guide the development of immunotherapies and companion diagnostics."

Digital Spatial Profiling will be featured in two additional posters and a spotlight presentation during the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) meeting. Merritt et al., will present recent technical advances of the platform including single cell selection and RNA profiling. Balko et al., applied the technology to characterizing checkpoint inhibitor therapy-induced autoimmune toxicities. The spotlight presentation will feature the inventors of the technology, Dr. Gordon Mills and Dr. Joseph Beechem who will speak about the potential of the platform to enable deep molecular characterization of complex biological phenomenon and provide greater insight into tumor immune cell interactions.

NanoString is accelerating the development of the Digital Spatial Profiling technology with customers via its Technology Access Program. Under the program, customers submit up to 20 FFPE tissue sections and NanoString performs a high-plex protein spatial profiling assay with a panel of 30 pre-validated immuno-oncology targets. An assay report along with raw digital data and processed results are provided back to customers. Researchers interested in participating in NanoString’s technology access program for its Digital Spatial Profiling technology should contact the company at [email protected].

Key DSP Events at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2017

Spotlight Presentation: Monday, April 3: 10:00am – 11:00am ET Spotlight Theater B – Hall A
Powering Precision Oncology Research with 3D Biology Technology: High Plex Multi-Analyte Profiling on FFPE with Spatial Resolution.
Gordon B. Mills M.D. Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Systems Biology at MD Anderson Cancer Center and Joseph M. Beechem, PhD, Senior Vice President of Research & Development, NanoString Technologies.

Poster # 3810 – Tuesday, April 4: 8:00am – 12:00pm ET
Validation of novel high-plex protein spatial profiling quantitation based on NanoString’s Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) technology with quantitative fluorescence (QIF) [Section #32, Board #6]
Maria I. Toki, M.D., Ph.D., Yale School of Medicine

Poster # 588 – Sunday, April 2: 1:00 PM-5:00 PM
Advanced molecular characterization of severe autoimmune toxicities associated with checkpoint inhibitor therapies [Section #25, Board #22]
Justin M. Balko, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt University

Poster# 3955 – Tuesday, April 4: 8:00 AM-12:00 PM
Spatially resolved, multiplexed digital characterization of protein and mRNA distribution and abundance in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections based on NanoString’s Digital Spatial Profiling [Section #41, Board #22]
Chris Merritt, Ph.D., NanoString Technologies