NanoString Expands Leadership Team With the Hiring of Two Seasoned Executives

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NanoString Technologies, Inc., a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and molecular diagnostic products, today announced the appointment of Gary S. Riordan as Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs and Kathy Surace-Smith as Vice President and General Counsel. Both executives bring many years of experience in their respective fields, as well as in the medical technology industry. Mr. Riordan and Ms. Surace-Smith are expected to play key roles in advancing the company’s diagnostic business, which recently launched its first commercial in vitro diagnostic product, the Prosigna^™ Breast Cancer Prognostic Gene Signature Assay for the nCounter^® diagnostic system in the European Union and Israel.

“Kathy and Gary each bring a wealth of experiences that will add significant value to our company now and in the future, and I am very pleased to have them join our team.”

Gary Riordan has more than 20 years of experience working in the in vitro diagnostics field. Most recently he served in senior leadership roles with several privately-held diagnostic companies and as a consultant to the industry. Previously, he was Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Affairs and a member of the senior management team at Sequenom, Inc. and Director of Regulatory Affairs at Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., which was acquired by Roche Molecular Systems. Earlier in his career, Mr. Riordan was a biologist at the Food and Drug Administration and served as a primary reviewer of premarket approval and product license applications. He received his B.A. in Molecular Biology from San Jose State University.

Kathy Surace-Smith joins NanoString after serving for eight years as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of SonoSite, Inc., a Nasdaq-listed medical device company specializing in hand held ultrasound systems. At SonoSite, Ms. Surace-Smith managed diverse matters including intellectual property, litigation, compliance, licensing, board governance and reimbursement. Previously, she was Vice President and General Counsel at Metawave Communications, a Nasdaq-listed telecommunications equipment provider, where she was part of the management team that took the company public. Earlier in her career, Ms. Surace-Smith was in private practice with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. She received her A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.

“With the addition of these two high-caliber individuals, our leadership team has the key ingredients needed to successfully pursue our expansion into molecular diagnostics,” said Brad Gray, President and Chief Executive Officer of NanoString Technologies. “Kathy and Gary each bring a wealth of experiences that will add significant value to our company now and in the future, and I am very pleased to have them join our team.”

About NanoString Technologies, Inc.

NanoString Technologies is a privately held provider of life science tools for translational research and developer of 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 180 peer-reviewed publications, has also now been optimized as a diagnostic platform. The system 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 kit to be marketed through the company’s recently formed diagnostics business.

The nCounter Analysis System is currently available for “Research Use Only” in North America. For more information, please visit www.nanostring.com.

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