NanoString Technologies marks a significant milestone by releasing the first-ever public dataset of the whole transcriptome at true single-cell resolution using the CosMx Spatial Molecular Imager (SMI). This groundbreaking achievement, announced ahead of the 42nd annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, positions NanoString as the pioneer in providing unparalleled capabilities for single-cell spatial biology.
CosMx Whole Transcriptome Panel Breakthrough
NanoString becomes the first company to achieve true single-cell whole transcriptome imaging with its CosMx SMI platform. The transformative CosMx Whole Transcriptome Panel allows researchers to visualize the expression of every protein-coding gene in the human genome in situ, revolutionizing the understanding of single-cell spatial biology.
This technological advancement offers nearly 40 times the coverage of competing platforms, enabling the exploration of millions of cells per experiment, identification of rare cell types, and a comprehensive understanding of cellular landscapes.
NanoString plans to commercially launch the CosMx Whole Transcriptome Panel in 2025, promising a lower cost per single cell and higher cellular throughput compared to traditional single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). The release of a pioneering dataset from healthy human pancreas tissue demonstrates the functional biology of the pancreas, showcasing the panel’s ability to reveal rare cell types typically lost with conventional scRNA-seq methods.
Anticipated Impact and Upcoming Launch
The scientific community anticipates transformative impacts on research capabilities with NanoString’s breakthrough technology. Researchers, including Grant R. Kolar, M.D., Ph.D., Director at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, highlight the potential to address fundamental questions about the interactions between anatomy and function within tissues, particularly in the field of pancreatic islets.
The Whole Transcriptome capabilities of CosMx SMI will be showcased by NanoString at the Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) meeting in February 2024, which will be held in Orlando, Florida. The CosMx Human 6K Discovery Panel, which offers six times higher plex than existing CosMx SMI panels and enables deeper research of cell states and functions, is also expected to be commercially shipped by the business in Q1 2024.