NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – NanoString Technologies today announced that it has formed a multi-year collaboration with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to develop and test cancer biomarker assays that simultaneously profile gene and protein expression using the company's nCounter Analysis System.
Under the arrangement, the partners will develop new assays and signatures that profile key oncology disease pathways and immune response from tumor tissue. The assays will be incorporated into certain clinical studies being run at MD Anderson to predict and monitor responses to cancer immunotherapies and targeted therapies, and to identify clinically actionable proteomic markers across multiple tumor types.
NanoString said it holds the rights to research and diagnostic content generated through the collaboration.
"Our current PanCancer Pathway and Immune Profiling gene expression panels offer researchers … assays for understanding the tug-of-war between the drivers of tumor growth and the immune system's response," NanoString President and CEO Brad Gray said in a statement. "In collaboration with experts at MD Anderson, we will be adding a new proteomic dimension to these assays, and aiming to demonstrate their potential to inform drug development and selection."
NanoString said it plans to beta launch the first research panel for the simultaneous measurement of gene and protein expression at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting later this month.