QIAGEN Demonstrates Expanded Bioinformatics Workflows at ASHG; Strong Market Adoption as Researchers Analyze Genomic Data on More Than a Quarter-Million Samples in Secure Private Cloud

SAN DIEGO and HILDEN, Germany, October 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

• Translational research in cancer and other diseases will benefit from new capabilities being presented at the American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting  
• Volume of 250,000-plus DNA samples linked to Ingenuity^® Knowledge Base greatly exceeds any comparable database - providing superior depth for genomic analysis 
• Ingenuity^® Variant Analysis™ adds fully integrated BIOBASE HGMD^® Professional to deliver quick, detailed reports on inherited mutations  
• CLC Cancer Research Workbench gains copy number detection and first "FastQ-to-insight" solution through integration with Ingenuity^® Variant Analysis™ to help users uncover meaningful insights in cancer research  

QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced a number of new capabilities for its Ingenuity^® Variant Analysis™ and CLC Cancer Research Workbench solutions that accelerate the workflows for researchers to move from sample to insight with next-generation sequencing (NGS). The company is demonstrating the latest workflows for analysis and interpretation of NGS data, focused on hereditary disease and detection of somatic driver mutations in cancer, at the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) annual meeting from October 18-22 in San Diego, California.  

"Adoption of QIAGEN's universal bioinformatics solutions is growing rapidly as we continue to integrate and expand the capabilities of our applications and knowledge bases from CLC bio, Ingenuity and BIOBASE. Thousands of researchers to date have already analyzed over 250,000 human DNA samples using QIAGEN bioinformatics products," said Dr. Laura Furmanski, Senior Vice President of QIAGEN and head of the Bioinformatics Business Area. "Data analysis and interpretation remain a significant bottleneck in next-generation sequencing. We are increasing QIAGEN's leadership in bioinformatics by further integrating and expanding our portfolio of universal solutions to enable disease-focused researchers to move rapidly from raw data to valuable insights. We are pleased to demonstrate our streamlined, advanced analysis workflows for translational research, other scientific fields and clinical applications to the human genetics community at ASHG."

Ingenuity Variant Analysis integrates BIOBASE HGMD  

QIAGEN's Ingenuity Variant Analysis is a web-based software application that quickly filters genetic variants in a secure, private cloud-based environment to identify variants most likely to cause disease. Ingenuity applications provide researchers a powerful platform to efficiently evaluate data generated by high-throughput NGS technologies. Ingenuity Variant Analysis leverages the Ingenuity Knowledge Base, a repository of expertly curated biological interactions and functional annotations created from millions of individually modeled relationships between proteins, genes, complexes, cells, tissues, drugs, and diseases. To support users focused on hereditary disease, QIAGEN now has fully integrated HGMD Professional with Ingenuity Variant Analysis so that researchers no longer require a separate HGMD license. HGMD is a unique resource that provides comprehensive data on human inherited disease mutations and is widely used in human genetics research, diagnostics and personal genomics applications. Through this integration, users can now utilize ethnicity inference to simplify dataset groupings and to identify variants associated with target traits (such as high cholesterol or physical traits) at no additional cost.

CLC Cancer Research Workbench adds CNV detection and integration with Ingenuity Variant Analysis 

QIAGEN's CLC Cancer Research Workbench, the first comprehensive, user-friendly and customizable cancer-focused informatics solution, provides scientists and clinicians with tools to discover prognostic markers, identify subclonal somatic mutations, detect inherited traits, find biomarkers for drug response, and determine new oncogenes. All results can be filtered, visualized and compared with relevant databases. Users will now also be able to detect copy number variations (CNVs) and variants from RNA-seq data, which can be further analyzed using Ingenuity Variant Analysis for causal variant identification. QIAGEN has also developed the first "FastQ-to-insight solution," which integrates CLC Cancer Research Workbench directly with Ingenuity Variant Analysis. This new Workbench plug-in allows users to identify and interpret somatic cancer driver mutations with one click using Ingenuity Variant Analysis and to visualize the results in both products to identify and validate the best candidates. A demonstration of this new tool will be shown at ASHG. The product's launch is expected at the end of October.

QIAGEN Presence at ASHG  

QIAGEN scientists will be discussing Ingenuity and CLC bio solutions in the company's booth (#936-938) throughout the meeting and also during an Exhibitor Education Event in Room 11A at the Convention Center on Tuesday Oct. 21 from 12:30-1:45 p.m. In addition, more than 30 posters will highlight the use of Ingenuity and CLC bio products, including:

Saturday, Oct. 18, HGVS meeting (preconference of ASHG) 

• Comparison and interpretation of variants in RNA and DNA from sarcoma cancer sample 

Sunday, Oct. 19, 5-6 p.m. 

• Comparing variant filters from transcriptome and exome sequencing data (#1578S)
• Exome sequencing of multiplex oral clefts families detects recurrent shared rare variants in nine genes (#742S) 

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2-3 p.m. 

• Identification of differentially-expressed genes and somatic mutations in esophageal adenocarcinoma cancer patients (# 1391T)

About QIAGEN 

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands-based holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample & Assay Technologies that are used to transform biological materials into valuable molecular information. Sample technologies are used to isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from biological samples such as blood or tissue. Assay technologies are then used to make these isolated biomolecules visible and ready for interpretation. QIAGEN markets more than 500 products around the world, selling both consumable kits and automation systems to customers through four customer classes: Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare), Applied Testing (forensics, veterinary testing and food safety), Pharma (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies) and Academia (life sciences research). As of June 30, 2014, QIAGEN employed approximately 4,200 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at http://www.qiagen.com.

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, 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
Investor Relations    
John Gilardi    
+49-2103-29-11711
e-mail: [email protected]    
           
Public Relations    
Dr. Thomas Theuringer    
+49-2103-29-11826
e-mail: [email protected]    

SOURCE Qiagen