[February 12, 2014]

Study Confirms Ability of the Prosigna Assay to Assess Risk of Late Distant Recurrence in Postmenopausal Women With Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer

NanoString Technologies, Inc., (NASDAQ:NSTG) a provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, today announced that a study published online in Clinical Cancer Research showed that the PAM50 assay, on which the company's Prosigna^™ Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay is based, accurately assessed the risk of late distant recurrence in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) early-stage breast cancer. The study, titled, "The PAM50 Risk-of-Recurrence Score Predicts Risk for Late Distant Recurrence after Endocrine Therapy in Postmenopausal Women with Endocrine-Responsive Early Breast Cancer" was conducted by researchers from the Austrian Breast & Colorectal Cancer Study Group and can be found online at: http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2014/02/11/1078-0432.CCR-13-1845.abstract.

"There is an urgent unmet clinical need to accurately differentiate breast cancer patients who remain at high risk of distant recurrence beyond five years after diagnosis," said senior author Michael Gnant, M.D., Professor at the Medical University of Vienna in Austria. "Prosigna's ability to predict late recurrences may enable identification of patients with endocrine-responsive breast cancer who can be spared extended adjuvant therapy in the future."

Study authors found that the Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay significantly increased prognostic accuracy with respect to late distant recurrence compared to a score based on clinical factors alone. Between years five and 15 after diagnosis in patients who had not had a recurrence at five years, patients categorized as low risk by the Prosigna Assay demonstrated a risk of distant recurrence of 2.4 percent compared to a risk of 17.5 percent in the high-risk group. The ability to accurately assess risk of late distant recurrence was observed for patients with both node-positive and node-negative disease.

"The ability to stratify patients according to risk of late distant recurrence significantly differentiates the Prosigna Assay from other genomic-based breast cancer assays," said Brad Gray, President and Chief Executive Officer of NanoString Technologies. "We believe that this feature provides the potential to expand the clinical utility of the Prosigna Assay, helping to inform treatment decisions that physicians struggle with today."

Results described in the Clinical Cancer Research paper build on data presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium as well as a paper recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI). Authors of the JNCI paper found that the PAM50 gene signature was better than Oncotype DX^® and IHC4 Assays at categorizing patients into low and high risk for late distant recurrence of disease (see www.nanostring.com/company/corp_press_release?id=94).

About the Prosigna^™ Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay and nCounter^® Dx Analysis System

The Prosigna Assay provides a risk category and numerical score for assessment of the risk of distant recurrence of disease at 10 years in postmenopausal women with node-negative (Stage I or II) or node-positive (Stage II), hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer. Based on the PAM50 gene signature initially discovered by Charles Perou, Ph.D. and colleagues, the Prosigna Assay is an in vitro diagnostic tool that utilizes gene expression data weighted together with clinical variables to generate a risk category and numerical score to assess a patient's risk of distant recurrence of disease. The Prosigna Assay measures gene expression levels of RNA extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) breast tumor tissue previously diagnosed as invasive breast carcinoma.

The Prosigna Assay requires minimal hands-on time and runs on NanoString's proprietary nCounter^® Dx Analysis System, which offers a reproducible and cost-effective way to profile many genes simultaneously with high sensitivity and precision.

The nCounter Dx Analysis System is a highly automated and easy-to-use platform that utilizes a novel digital barcoding chemistry to deliver high precision multiplexed assays. The system is available in the multi-mode FLEX configuration, which is designed to meet the needs of high-complexity clinical laboratories seeking a single platform with the flexibility to run the Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay and, when operated in the "Life Sciences" mode, process translational research experiments and multiplexed assays developed by the laboratory. The nCounter Elements^™ General Purpose Reagents (GPRs) offered by NanoString provide further flexibility by enabling laboratories to develop their own gene expression, copy number variation, and gene fusion signatures.

In the United States, the Prosigna Assay is available for diagnostic use when ordered by a physician. The Prosigna Assay has been CE-marked and is available for use by healthcare professionals in the European Union and other countries that recognize the CE Mark and in which Prosigna is registered.

The Prosigna^™ Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay Intended Use:

In the U.S., the Prosigna Assay is indicated in female breast cancer patients who have undergone surgery in conjunction with locoregional treatment consistent with standard of care, either as:

Special Conditions for Use:

The Prosigna Assay is not intended for diagnosis, to predict or detect response to therapy, or to help select the optimal therapy for patients.

For more information, please visit www.prosigna.com.

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies provides life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products. The company's nCounter^® Analysis System, which has been employed in basic and translational research since it was first introduced in 2008 and cited in more than 360 peer-reviewed publications, has also now been applied to diagnostic use as the nCounter Dx Analysis System. The company's technology offers a cost-effective way to easily profile the expression of hundreds of genes, miRNAs, or copy number variations, simultaneously with high sensitivity and precision. The company's technology enables a wide variety of basic research and translational medicine applications, including biomarker discovery and validation. The nCounter-based Prosigna^™ Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay is the first in vitro diagnostic assay to be marketed through the company's diagnostics business. The nCounter Dx Analysis System is FDA 510(k) cleared for use with the Prosigna Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay. To date, it has not been cleared by the FDA for other indications or for use with other assays.

For more information, please visit www.nanostring.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the potential for Prosigna to identify patients who can be spared extended endocrine therapy, to expand the clinical utility of Prosigna and to differentiate Prosigna from first-generation genomic breast cancer assays. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks associated with keeping pace with rapidly changing technology and customer requirements; risks regarding the company's ability to successfully introduce new products; risks that new market opportunities may not develop as quickly as expected; risks associated with competition in marketing and selling products; risks of increased regulatory requirements; risks associated with obtaining reimbursement coverage for Prosigna; as well as the other risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. NanoString Technologies disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

The NanoString Technologies logo, NanoString, NanoString Technologies, and nCounter are registered trademarks, and Prosigna is a trademark of NanoString Technologies, Inc. Oncotype DX is a registered trademark of Genomic Health, Inc.

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