• QIAGEN increases forensics market lead with solutions from sample collection to identification
• Collaboration will provide customers workflow tools and support for highest quality outcomes
• Verogen broadens reach of sequencing and analysis products for forensic and human identity samples

QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced a commercialization partnership with San Diego-based human identification specialist Verogen that will provide customers of both companies with superior tools and comprehensive support for human identification (HID) workflows in their laboratories.

The deal enables QIAGEN to offer Verogen’s preeminent HID sequencing and analysis solutions that run on MiSeq FGx^® sequencers from Illumina, decisively expanding QIAGEN’s forensics leadership that already covers sample collection and preparation, genetic testing analysis and workflow automation. The agreement grants QIAGEN the rights to distribute the Verogen portfolio globally – including kits based on the proprietary Verogen ForenSeq^® assay, the Verogen MiSeq FGx^® Sequencing System and the Universal Analysis Software – and covers an expansion of the partnership through future ForenSeq-based assays.

Verogen and QIAGEN will also cooperate to commercialize a menu of forensically validated workflows for next-generation sequencing (NGS) that combine Verogen’s library-prep products with QIAGEN’s QIAseq products, automation solutions and expertise. QIAGEN will market Verogen products globally alongside its portfolio of forensics instruments, kits and services. Financial details of the deal are not being disclosed.

“This combination brings together Verogen’s innovative NGS workflows with QIAGEN’s leading portfolio of Sample to Insight solutions, creating the most comprehensive product offering for forensics applications,” said Thierry Bernard, Chief Executive Officer at QIAGEN. “The partnership will drive the adoption of NGS in human identification as it will enable our customers to gain even better insights from their casework samples. This will ultimately strengthen justice systems all over the world.”

“Our mission is to empower the human identification community with innovative tools that can deliver an identification, not just a DNA profile,” said Brett Williams, Chief Executive Officer at Verogen. “This partnership with QIAGEN will make it easier for laboratories to provide more impactful answers. By combining Verogen’s industry-leading NGS-based product portfolio with QIAGEN’s gold-standard extraction, assay and automation solutions, we will accelerate adoption and use of NGS in forensics.”

NGS is used in many biotechnological fields, from cancer research to rare-disease testing. In forensics, it opens completely new opportunities for criminal casework, missing persons and disaster-victim identification. While traditional STR-profiling requires a suspect or a database hit to compare with a crime sample, NGS provides additional intelligence options such as estimation of externally visible characteristics like hair or eye color, thereby elevating DNA testing from a passive forensic support to a proactive investigational technique.

Experts expect the market for NGS in forensics to grow at a double-digit rate annually because of its promising applications.

This collaboration of market leaders addresses important hurdles in areas like workflow integration, automation and vendor support that have slowed adoption of NGS in forensics. The partnership bolsters the workflow solutions offered by QIAGEN and Verogen by offering forensic customers a new level of end-to-end support across the globe, from sample collection to data interpretation and analysis.

QIAGEN is a world leader in HID and forensic testing. It offers a full range of forensic-grade chemistries and high-quality instruments, such as the new EZ2 Connect Fx that address the challenges of crime scene investigation and more. Covering every step from sample to insight, QIAGEN has shaped the development of forensic standards, supporting criminal justice and missing persons identification. QIAGEN’s top-quality forensics products and services are helping customers unlock vital molecular insights to make improvements in life possible.

Find out more about QIAGEN’s human identification portfolio here: https://www.qiagen.com/us/applications/human-identity-and-forensics/

About Verogen

Verogen is a dedicated developer of DNA-based biometric human identification products for analysis of forensic genomic samples. Working closely with the forensic community, Verogen places exceptional value on flexible, scalable solutions that deliver reliable results. To learn more, visit www.verogen.com

About QIAGEN

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands-based holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. Our sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials. Assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. Automation solutions tie these together in seamless and cost-effective workflows. QIAGEN provides solutions to more than 500,000 customers around the world in Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare) and Life Sciences (academia, pharma R&D and industrial applications, primarily forensics). As of March 31, 2021, QIAGEN employed approximately 5,700 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at http://www.qiagen.com

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements contained in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. To the extent that any of the statements contained herein relating to QIAGEN's products, including those products used in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, timing for launch and development, marketing and/or regulatory approvals, financial and operational outlook, growth and expansion, collaborations markets, strategy or operating results, including without limitation its expected adjusted net sales and adjusted diluted earnings results, are forward-looking, such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations, regulatory processes and dependence on logistics), variability of operating results and allocations between customer classes, the commercial development of markets for our products to customers in academia, pharma, applied testing and molecular diagnostics; changing relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic partners; competition; rapid or unexpected changes in technologies; fluctuations in demand for QIAGEN's products (including fluctuations due to general economic conditions, the level and timing of customers' funding, budgets and other factors); our ability to obtain regulatory approval of our products; difficulties in successfully adapting QIAGEN's products to integrated solutions and producing such products; the ability of QIAGEN to identify and develop new products and to differentiate and protect our products from competitors' products; market acceptance of QIAGEN's new products and the integration of acquired technologies and businesses; actions of governments, global or regional economic developments, weather or transportation delays, natural disasters, political or public health crises, including the breadth and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the demand for our products and other aspects of our business, or other force majeure events; as well as the possibility that expected benefits related to recent or pending acquisitions may not materialize as expected; and the other factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in Item 3 of our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F. For further information, please refer to the discussions in reports that QIAGEN has filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: QIAGEN N.V.



Category: Corporate

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