NanoString Takes Steps to Restructure Its Business and Protect Its Mission to Map the Universe of Biology
Initiates Voluntary Chapter 11 Restructuring Proceedings with Additional
Continuing to Serve Life Sciences Researchers Worldwide
“The unexpected outcome of the November GeoMx patent litigation trial in
Patent Litigation with Competitor Seeking to Control Life Science Research
Patent litigation is common among companies operating in life sciences and is sometimes initiated for the purpose of minimizing or eliminating competition unfairly. NanoString is currently the primary target of an extensive litigation campaign being conducted by 10x Genomics, Inc. (10x). Since May 2021, 10x has brought multiple infringement lawsuits against NanoString in
NanoString is confident in the fidelity of its innovation and product development process, and believes it has strong legal defenses and counterclaims and that the GeoMx DSP and CosMx SMI offer unique propositions to the scientific community. Nonetheless, the Company has faced unfavorable initial rulings that have impacted its business trajectory and financial position. While the Company believes that it has strong grounds for appeals, these initial litigation outcomes, including the cost burdens associated with continued engagement in extensive litigation with a large well-funded competitor, have siphoned resources from innovation and customer support activities and placed a significant strain on the Company’s business and financial resources.
Restructuring Process Provides Safe Haven and Cash Infusion
As a result of the combined near-term impact of these litigation proceedings, today, NanoString elected to commence a court-supervised restructuring process. This process importantly allows the Company to:
- Continue to operate its business, support its workforce, and serve its customers, including customers that either own or are considering the purchase of an nCounter®, GeoMx DSP or CosMx SMI system.
- Stay all ongoing patent litigation against the Company worldwide.
- Explore strategic alternatives including a potential sale of all or part of the Company’s business to new owners who will continue the Company’s mission. The Company has received and is currently evaluating multiple preliminary indications of interest as part of this process.
In connection with this process, NanoString has reached an agreement in principle with certain of our incumbent lenders to provide us with at least
NanoString to Continue to Serve Researchers Worldwide
NanoString will continue to serve researchers across its installed base of over 1,500 nCounter, GeoMx DSP, and CosMx SMI platforms. NanoString’s current management team, Board of Directors and employees will continue to operate the business and serve customers following the filing.
As part of the restructuring process, the Company will file customary "First Day" motions to allow it to maintain normal operations. NanoString expects and intends to pay vendors under customary terms for goods and services received on or after the filing date, and to pay its employees in the usual manner and to continue their primary benefits without disruption.
Additional Information About the Court-Supervised Restructuring Process
Additional information regarding the Company’s court-supervised process, including court filings and other information, is available on a separate website administrated by the Company’s claims agent, Kroll, at https://cases.ra.kroll.com/NanoString.
The Company is represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP as counsel, AlixPartners LLP as restructuring advisor and Perella Weinberg Partners L.P. as restructuring investment banker.
About NanoString
NanoString Technologies, a leader in spatial biology, offers an ecosystem of innovative discovery and translational research solutions, empowering our customers to map the universe of biology. The GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler is a flexible and consistent solution combining the power of whole tissue imaging with gene expression and protein data for spatial whole transcriptomics and proteomics. The CosMx™ Spatial Molecular Imager is a single-cell imaging platform powered by spatial multiomics enabling researchers to map single cells in their native environments to extract deep biological insights and novel discoveries from one experiment. The AtoMx™ Spatial Informatics Platform is a cloud-based informatics solution with advanced analytics and global collaboration capabilities, enabling powerful spatial biology insights anytime, anywhere. At the foundation of our research tools is our nCounter® Analysis System, which offers a secure way to easily profile the expression of hundreds of genes, proteins, miRNAs, or copy number variations, simultaneously with high sensitivity and precision. For more information, please visit www.nanostring.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes statements that are, or may be deemed, “forward-looking statements.” In some cases, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “approximately” or, in each case, their negative or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These forward-looking statements reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of such statement, and we undertake no obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. NanoString’s forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about NanoString’s plans to sell its assets pursuant to chapter 11 of the
NanoString, NanoString Technologies, the NanoString logo, CosMx, GeoMx, AtoMx and nCounter are trademarks or registered trademarks of NanoString Technologies, Inc. in various jurisdictions.
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Source: NanoString Technologies, Inc.