QIAGEN Companion Diagnostic Wins FDA Approval for use With IRESSA

GERMANTOWN, Maryland, and HILDEN, Germany, July 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

therascreen^® EGFR RGQ PCR Kit to guide treatment with AstraZeneca's lung cancer drug in U.S.  

QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today received U.S. marketing (PMA) approval of its therascreen^® EGFR RGQ PCR Kit (therascreen EGFR test) as a companion diagnostic to guide the use of AstraZeneca's IRESSA^® (gefitinib) in the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). QIAGEN's therascreen EGFR test was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to enable doctors to identify NSCLC patients who have tumors that are positive for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and therefore are eligible for treatment with AstraZeneca's drug.

More than 200,000 new lung cancer cases are diagnosed every year in the United States, with NSCLC accounting for approximately 85% of cases, leading to an estimated 160,000 deaths. Testing for EGFR mutations is believed to be the largest segment in companion diagnostics for personalized medicine.

"We are very pleased to offer the therascreen EGFR test in the United States to guide the use of IRESSA, a further milestone in personalized medicine for lung cancer patients. QIAGEN's leadership in companion diagnostics continues to grow, transforming patient care around the world," said Thierry Bernard, Senior Vice President, Head of the Molecular Diagnostics Business Area and a member of the Executive Committee of QIAGEN. "The FDA approval of our therascreen EGFR test with IRESSA is another highlight in QIAGEN's ongoing, successful collaboration with AstraZeneca. This marks QIAGEN's fourth U.S. approval of a companion diagnostic. As the second FDA-approved use of therascreen EGFR in NSCLC, the pairing with IRESSA also expands QIAGEN's U.S. market leadership in EGFR testing. Our growing Personalized Healthcare portfolio continues to broaden the content menu for Rotor-Gene Q, a member of our QIAsymphony platform family."

"We are delighted to be partnering with QIAGEN to provide this important companion diagnostic test to guide the use of IRESSA for patients with NSCLC in the U.S. By combining AstraZeneca's expertise in lung cancer with QIAGEN's leading diagnostic technologies, we have the potential to help physicians achieve better patient outcomes in NSCLC," said Ruth March, Vice President and Head of Personalized Healthcare and Biomarkers at AstraZeneca.

Along with the therascreen EGFR test to analyze tissue from lung tumors, the FDA approved IRESSA for first line treatment of NSCLC in patients identified with the aid of an FDA-approved companion diagnostic. QIAGEN and AstraZeneca have a long-term global collaboration for co-development and co-commercialization of companion diagnostics. IRESSA is now marketed in more than 90 countries, and QIAGEN offers companion diagnostics in more than 60 countries. In January 2015, QIAGEN launched the therascreen EGFR Plasma RGQ PCR Kit in more than 30 European countries, a CE-IVD marked test co-developed with AstraZeneca. The plasma kit analyzes EGFR mutation status from blood and is the first-ever "liquid biopsy" regulatory registration of a companion diagnostic to benefit solid-tumor patients for whom surgical biopsies are not assessable. QIAGEN also is engaged in additional partnerships focusing on companion diagnostics for use with third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting EGFR in NSCLC and has developed tests for other biomarkers targeting NSCLC, including ALK and KRAS.

In the United States, the therascreen EGFR RGQ PCR Kit has been marketed since 2013 as a companion diagnostic for another drug used in NSCLC patients. According to industry reports, QIAGEN provides approximately 50% of companion diagnostic kits targeting EGFR mutations, making the therascreen EGFR test the U.S. commercial leader by a substantial margin.

Globally, QIAGEN is at the forefront in developing companion diagnostics to guide the selection of medicines for cancer and other diseases. The company already markets Personalized Healthcare kits covering about 30 biomarkers, spanning a range of automation platforms and sample types, around the world. QIAGEN continues to expand its pipeline of Sample to Insight technologies for personalized healthcare applications and intends to submit more tests for regulatory clearance or approval. The company has more than 15 projects with leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies to co-develop and market companion diagnostics. In addition, QIAGEN is developing a pipeline of liquid biopsy-based tests for research and eventual use in clinical diagnostics.

The therascreen EGFR test has been developed by QIAGEN Manchester, the global center for the development and regulatory approval of QIAGEN's molecular diagnostic applications.

*not approved for diagnostic use in the United States

About QIAGEN 

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands-based holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions to transform biological materials into valuable molecular insights. QIAGEN 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 molecular testing workflows. QIAGEN provides these workflows to more than 500,000 customers around the world in Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare), Applied Testing (forensics, veterinary testing and food safety), Pharma (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies) and Academia (life sciences research). As of March 31, 2015, QIAGEN employed approximately 4,300 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at http://www.qiagen.com.

About IRESSA  

IRESSA is a targeted monotherapy for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). IRESSA acts by inhibiting the tyrosine kinase enzyme in the EGFR, thus blocking the transmission of signals involved in the growth and spread of tumours. EGFR mutations occur in approximately 10 to 15 percent of NSCLC Caucasian patients and 30 to 40 percent of NSCLC patients in Asia. IRESSA is approved in 91 countries worldwide.

Certain of the statements contained in this news 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, markets, strategy or operating results, including without limitation its expected operating results, new product developments, new product launches, regulatory submissions, and financing plans 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 in applied testing, personalized healthcare, clinical research, proteomics, women's health/HPV testing and nucleic acid-based 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, the consummation of acquisitions, and the integration of acquired technologies and businesses. 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 (SEC).  

Contacts QIAGEN
Public Relations:
Dr. Thomas Theuringer
Director Public Relations
+49-2103-29-11826
+1-240-686-7425

Email: [email protected]
http://www.twitter.com/qiagen
https://www.facebook.com/QIAGEN
pr.qiagen.com

Investor Relations:
John Gilardi
Vice President Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
+49-2103-29-11711
+1-240-686-2222

Email: [email protected]
ir.qiagen.com

SOURCE QIAGEN N.V.