Defendant
1 case as defendant.
NanoString Technologies, Inc., now part of Bruker Spatial Biology, was a biotechnology company founded in 2003 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company developed and sold life science tools for discovery and translational research. In February 2024, NanoString filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a move attributed to the financial strain of a significant patent infringement verdict. In May 2024, Bruker Corporation acquired substantially all of NanoString's assets for approximately $392.6 million following a competitive auction. Prior to the bankruptcy and acquisition, NanoString's 2022 revenue was reported as $127.3 million.
NanoString's core business revolves around developing, manufacturing, and selling instruments and consumables for spatial biology and gene expression analysis. Its major product platforms include the nCounter® Analysis System, which profiles gene and protein expression; the GeoMx® Digital Spatial Profiler (DSP) for spatial profiling of RNA and proteins in tissue samples; and the CosMx™ Spatial Molecular Imager (SMI) for high-resolution single-cell imaging. The company also offers the AtoMx™ Spatial Informatics Platform, a cloud-based service for data analysis and management. These tools are used by researchers in oncology, immunology, and neuroscience to study the spatial context of molecular interactions within tissues.
As an operating company, NanoString has been a defendant in patent litigation. The provided case data shows one tracked suit where it is the defendant: 10x Genomics, Inc. et al. v. NanoString Technologies, Inc. in the District of Delaware. This case is part of a broader, multi-jurisdictional patent dispute with competitor 10x Genomics. The litigation has involved lawsuits in the U.S. and Europe concerning patents related to NanoString's GeoMx and CosMx platforms.
The litigation with 10x Genomics proved to be a pivotal event for the company. In November 2023, a jury in the District of Delaware found that NanoString's GeoMx products willfully infringed seven patents and awarded 10x Genomics over $31 million in damages. NanoString stated this verdict was a primary driver for its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in February 2024. The subsequent sale of its assets to Bruker Corporation concluded the bankruptcy process. In May 2025, Bruker and 10x Genomics resolved all remaining patent disputes through a global cross-license agreement.
This case involves a broader dispute over multiple spatial technology patents, including US 11,021,737. The case is ongoing, with proceedings previously linked to the related action against Vizgen.