
Accelerate your Drug Development and Biomarker Discovery
Biomarker Discovery and Drug Development
The drug development process can be complicated, consisting of many highly involved stages. To avoid costly missteps, it is critical to have well-validated biomarkers that play a critical role in every stage of the drug development process—initial identification of candidate drug, translational research, clinical development, and reverse translational studies.
NanoString’s platforms facilitate efficient biomarker discovery and validation throughout all these stages. Whether your research requires bulk, single-cell or sub-cellular spatial analysis, our innovative technologies can accelerate your scientific discoveries in drug development.
Pharma and CRO Spatial Summit Series
Accelerate and De-risk Biomarker Discovery and Drug Development

nCounter® Pro Analysis System
Up to 800-plex Pathway Based Gene Expression Tissues, FFPE, Biofluids

GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler
Morphological, spatial context for whole transcriptome and proteomics experiments from a single slide

CosMx™ Spatial Molecular Imager
Single cell profiling of RNA and proteins with subcellular resolution
Biomarkers discovered in early stages of drug development must be biologically robust and verified as drug development advances. Mechanistic studies to verify biomarkers derived from high-plex experiments are needed for biomarker development success. Adequate collection, storage, and limited availability of samples often prevent biomarker execution plans in clinical development stage studies, severely reducing the speed at which biomarker development can progress. NanoString technologies generate robust exploratory biomarker data from limited and challenging sample types and can be utilized for sample analysis to advance drug development programs.
Biomarker Discovery Simplified
- Access biomarker discovery solutions for every stage of drug development
- Trust biomarker findings to de-risk drug development
- Verify biomarkers using reliable and robust technologies
- Get the most from your data using high-plex spatial solutions to accelerate drug development
5 Reasons to Use nCounter Pro for Drug Development
- Save time and resources–biological insights in less than 24 hours using a simple workflow
- Get exceptional robustness–verify biomarkers as drug development progresses
- Protect your data in a cybersecure and 21 CFR Part 11-compliant environment
- Get flexibility with off-the-shelf curated gene expression content and custom options to fit various areas of research
- Generate gene expression data from various and challenging sample types
Spatial biology uses in situ-based approaches to study cellular composition and function within the 2- or 3-dimensional context of a tissue. The architecture of tissue and cell:cell interactions in their native environment can be mapped using spatial biology. Analyzing RNA and protein expression from a single slide with spatial context enables researchers to view a positional map of cells and increases the understanding of tissue and cellular architecture and interaction.
A Spatial Solution for Every Biomarker Discovery Stage

5 Reasons to Use Spatial Biology with GeoMx® DSP and CosMx™ SMI for Drug Development
- Use minimal tissue sample input (as little as a single tissue section), to perform high-plex spatial protein and gene expression profiling of distinct regions in tissue microenvironments to identify and validate biomarkers
- Generate usable data that is highly robust and reproducible, enabling novel discoveries
- Apply innovative solutions for protein and RNA biomarker discovery and development for exploratory biomarker applications in situ
- Generate spatially resolved multi-omic data from any sample type and across various species for biomarker discovery efforts across the full drug development continuum
- Get direct visualization and quantitation of relevant biomarkers

nCounter Pro Featured Applications
Democratized Access to Robust and Reliable Signature Development
Thousands of clinically relevant gene signatures have been described in the literature, but few have been developed into a standardized assay. Implementing microarrays, qPCR, and NGS has proved to be challenging due to errors introduced during steps like library prep, RT, and amplification.
nCounter® Pro technology solves these issues with:
- Direct digital detection with minimal sample manipulation
- A simple workflow, eliminating error introducing steps
- Proven reproducibility across multiple runs, users, and sites
Develop your own gene signature or implement an existing one with Custom CodeSets or Elements Reagents.
Related Webinars:
- The rise and fall of expression levels in cancer: An introduction to NanoString’s Oncology Signatures and their applications in bulk and spatial profiling
- Analytical Validation of the NanoString PanCancer IO 360™ Gene Expression Panel for Immuno-Oncology gene signature generation
- Utilization of NanoString’s IO 360 and TIS to Direct Spatial Investigation of the Tumor Microenvironment
- Signaling Your Interest: An Overview of Signature Access through NanoString’s Data Analysis Services (DAS) and CRO Partner Programs
- Gene expression signature development: The Discovery Phase State of the Field and Lessons Learned
- Best Practices for Training and Validating Gene Expression Signatures from FFPE Samples
- Validating expression signatures: Best Practices for Analytically Validating Gene Expression Signatures for Oncology-based Applications
Cellular and Gene Therapy – Biomanufacturing
Biomanufacturing, also known as bioproduction, utilizes biological systems to provide commercial or clinical trial materials for use in therapeutics. Many assay development challenges in biomanufacturing of cellular and gene therapies exist. Traditional in-process testing is typically done across various assay platforms with low reproducibility and robustness, complicated technical steps with a lot of hands-on time, and long turnaround times to results.
The nCounter Pro is a modernized and streamlined approach to assay development providing simple workflows and robust performance. Fit-for-purpose pre-built panels address essential characterization and provide a starting point for further cellular and gene therapy assay development. Many in-process and QC assays can be ported to the nCounter Pro streamlining various assay solutions under a single cybersecure, CFR Part 11 compliant system that meets biomanufacturing regulatory requirements.
GeoMx DSP and CosMx SMI are novel spatial translational tools for biomarker discovery for all areas and stages of cellular and gene therapy drug development including evaluating pre-clinical patient responses.
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