Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership (3)

FORM 3	UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0104 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5
	Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person ^*

Blackstone Holdings II L.P.

2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (MM/DD/YYYY) 1/4/2019

3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol

NanoString Technologies Inc [NSTG]

(Last) (First) (Middle)

C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P., 345 PARK AVENUE

4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable)

_____ Director ___ X ___ 10% Owner
_____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)

(Street)

NEW YORK, NY 10154

(City) (State) (Zip)

5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YYYY)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

___ Form filed by One Reporting Person
_ X _ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Common Stock	4036025	I	See Footnotes ⁽¹⁾ ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾

*Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned ( e.g.* , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)**
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YYYY)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 4)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares	4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security		6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)

Explanation of Responses:
(1)	These securities are held directly by Clarus Lifesciences II, L.P. ("Clarus II"). Clarus Ventures II GP, L.P. ("Clarus II GP") is the sole general partner of Clarus II. Blackstone Clarus II L.L.C. is the sole general partner of Clarus GP. The sole member of Blackstone Clarus II L.L.C. is Blackstone Holdings II L.P. The sole general partner of Blackstone Holdings II L.P. is Blackstone Holdings I/II GP Inc. The controlling shareholder of Blackstone Holdings I/II GP Inc. is The Blackstone Group L.P. The sole general partner of The Blackstone Group L.P. is Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. is wholly-owned by Blackstone's senior managing directors and controlled by its founder, Stephen A. Schwarzman.
(2)	Information with respect to each of the Reporting Persons is given solely by such Reporting Person, and no Reporting Person has responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of information supplied by another Reporting Person.
(3)	Each of such Reporting Persons may be deemed to beneficially own the shares beneficially owned by Clarus II, but each disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares, except to the extent of such Reporting Person's pecuniary interest therein. The filing of this statement shall not be deemed to be an admission that, for purposes of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise, the Reporting Persons are the beneficial owners of any securities reported herein.

Remarks:
This Form 3 is being filed in connection with the acquisition by The Blackstone Group L.P. and certain of its affiliates ("Blackstone") of Clarus Ventures, LLC and certain of its affiliates (collectively, "Clarus"). On January 4, 2019, Blackstone integrated the Clarus business into Blackstone (the "Clarus Integration"). As a result of such integration, Blackstone may be deemed to have become the beneficial owner of the securities beneficially owned by Clarus, including the securities of the Issuer.

Reporting Owners
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Blackstone Holdings II L.P. C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P. 345 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10154		X
Blackstone Clarus II L.L.C. C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P. 345 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10154		X
Blackstone Holdings I/II GP Inc C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P. 345 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10154		X
Blackstone Group L.P. 345 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10154		X
Blackstone Group Management L.L.C. C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P. 345 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10154		X
SCHWARZMAN STEPHEN A C/O THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P. 345 PARK AVENUE NEW YORK, NY 10154		X

Signatures
BLACKSTONE CLARUS II L.L.C., By: Blackstone Holdings II L.P., its managing member, By: Blackstone Holdings I/II GP Inc., its general partner, By: /s/ John G. Finley, Name: John G. Finley, Title: Chief Legal Officer		1/10/2019
^** Signature of Reporting Person		Date
BLACKSTONE HOLDINGS II L.P., By: Blackstone Holdings I/II GP Inc., its general partner, By: /s/ John G. Finley, Name: John G. Finley, Title: Chief Legal Officer		1/10/2019
^** Signature of Reporting Person		Date
BLACKSTONE HOLDINGS I/II GP INC., By: /s/ John G. Finley, Name: John G. Finley, Title: Chief Legal Officer		1/10/2019
^** Signature of Reporting Person		Date
THE BLACKSTONE GROUP L.P., By: Blackstone Group Management L.L.C., its general partner, By: /s/ John G. Finley, Name: John G. Finley, Title: Chief Legal Officer		1/10/2019
^** Signature of Reporting Person		Date
BLACKSTONE GROUP MANAGEMENT L.L.C., By: /s/ John G. Finley, Name: John G. Finley, Title: Chief Legal Officer		1/10/2019
^** Signature of Reporting Person		Date
/s/ Stephen A. Schwarzman		1/10/2019
^** Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note:	File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number.