On November 9, 2017 NanoString Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSTG), a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, reported the highlights of numerous advances in understanding immune response and cancer immunotherapy using the nCounter platform that will be presented at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) (Free SITC Whitepaper) (Press release, Ligand, NOV 9, 2017, View Source [SID1234521879]).

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"The scope of nCounter-based research being presented at this year’s SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) conference demonstrates our scientific and commercial momentum in immuno-oncology," said Alessandra Cesano, chief medical officer of NanoString. "In addition, several abstracts outline the unique capabilities of our Digital Spatial Profiling technology to characterize the tumor and its microenvironment to inform cancer research and drug development."

At least 45 abstracts using NanoString’s nCounter platform will be presented at the SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, being held in National Harbor, Maryland, Nov. 8-12, 2017. The research being presented spans a wide breadth of applications including biomarker development, assessing the biology of immune responsiveness and resistance, and digital pathology. They include biomarker studies covering 21therapeutic agents, as single agents or in combination.

Nineteen studies used NanoString’s PanCancer Series of panels to explore biomarkers associated with response to immunotherapy. Fourteen of these studies incorporate NanoString’s best-selling PanCancer Immune Profiling Panel. An additional five studies incorporating both early access and commercial versions of NanoString’s new PanCancer IO 360 Panel. The PanCancer IO 360 Panel assays key pathways from the tumor, the microenvironment and the immune system and includes more than 20 signatures that are potentially associated with therapeutic response to novel therapeutic agents with "matched" mechanisms of action. Three additional studies incorporate the nCounter Hallmarks of Cancer suite of gene expression panels, which includes three panels covering Cancer Immune Profiling, Cancer Pathways, and Cancer Progression.

The PanCancer IO 360 Panel studies provide initial evidence of positive association between the Tumor Inflammation Signature scores and clinical response to different immuno-oncology agents including nivolumab, ipilimumab, pembrolizumab and entinostat. NanoString’s Tumor Inflammation Signature (TIS) was recently described by Ayers, et al. (View Source) and is included in the PanCancer IO360 panel. The Tumor Inflammation Signature measures the presence or absence of a peripherally suppressed adaptive immune response within the tumor.

Five studies cover the use of NanoString’s Digital Spatial Profiling (DSP) platform in immuno-oncology research. DSP allows for digital quantification of protein from discrete regions of FFPE tissue in an automated and multiplex format. DSP will become widely available with the launch of a new instrument planned for late 2018, and in the meantime is available under a Technology Access Program.

Two studies cover the use of 3D Biology panels and demonstrate the utility of the nCounter platform. NanoString’s 3-D Flow technology provides detailed molecular profiles of T cell populations, and enables unique, simultaneous analysis of high-plex protein and RNA data. 3D Biology and 3D Flow approaches can be used to characterize baseline immunological state and response to stimulation, which may be useful for profiling mechanisms of action or therapeutic response.

At the 2017 SITC (Free SITC Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, NanoString will showcase its nCounter platform, IO360 Data Analysis, Digital Spatial Profiling and 3D Biology capabilities at booth #605.

NanoString will host a Digital Spatial Profiling Educational Session on Nov. 11, 2017, 12:45 – 1:45 p.m.

Below is a summary of abstracts co-authored by NanoString employees:

Abstract # Title Hyperlink
05 A dendritic cell targeting NY-ESO-1 vaccine significantly augments early and durable immune responses in melanoma patients pretreated with human Flt-3 Ligand View Source

019 ENCORE-601: Phase 1b/2 study of entinostat (ENT) in combination with pembrolizumab (PEMBRO) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) View Source

P40 Deep proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of sorted T cells with a simple, integrated workflow View Source

P43 Assessment of Pharmacodynamic Effects of Immuno-Oncology Agents in Cynomolgus Monkeys using High-Content Gene Expression Profiling View Source

P64 Analytical Validation of Digital Spatial Profiling – a novel approach for multiplexed characterization of protein distribution and abundance in FFPE tissue sections View Source

P65 Spatially-resolved, multiplexed digital characterization of protein abundance in FFPE tissue sections: application in preclinical mouse models View Source

P66 Digital spatial profiling platform allows both spatially-resolved, multiplexed measurement of solid tumor and immune-associated protein distribution and abundance using a single FFPE tissue section View Source

P72 Analysis of biomarkers from a cohort of advanced melanoma patients previously exposed to immune checkpoint inhibition treated with entinostat (ENT) and pembrolizumab (PEMBRO).

View Source
P73 First-in-human neoadjuvant study of the immunogenomic impact of the oral IDO inhibitor epacadostat (INCB024360) on the tumor microenvironment of advanced ovarian cancer View Source

P98 Immunological profiling of baseline and resected biopsies from locally/regionally advanced/recurrent melanoma treated with neoadjuvant combination ipilimumab (3mg/kg or 10mg/kg) and high dose IFN-α2B View Source

P99 Biomarker analysis from the OpACIN trial (Neo-/adjuvant ipilimumab + nivolumab (IPI+NIVO) in palpable stage 3 melanoma) View Source

P100 Pretreatment gene expression correlation with clinical response to pembrolizumab or nivolumab in metastatic melanoma View Source

P383 Molecular and immune characterization of melanoma metastases with heterogeneous PTEN expression View Source

P485 Use of the NanoString Gene Expression Profiling Platform to Capture the Immunological Status of the Leukemia Microenvironment View Source

P512 Deep immunoprofiling of rare T-cell populations from clinical samples View Source

P524 Clinical and biomarker analyses of a phase II study of intratumoral tavokinogene telseplasmid (pIL-12) plus pembrolizumab in stage III/IV melanoma patients predicted to not respond to anti-PD-1 View Source