QIAGEN Expands Product Portfolio for Next-generation Sequencing with QIAxpert® System and CLC Bioinformatics Suite for Cancer Research

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Apr 03, 2014, 01:30 ET

SAN DIEGO and HILDEN, Germany, April 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

New innovative product launches at American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting add to broad portfolio of NGS solutions
High-speed QIAxpert accelerates quantification and quality control of nucleic acids with easy-to-use software and analysis aiding sample-to-insight workflows
CLC Cancer Research Workbench is the world's first comprehensive, user-friendly and customizable cancer-focused NGS bioinformatics solution

QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced two important new product launches which address workflow challenges in next-generation sequencing (NGS) applications. QIAGEN will present these and several other innovative solutions for NGS applications at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting from April 5-9 in San Diego, with about 35 poster and other sessions featuring applications of QIAGEN's Sample & Assay Technologies.

The innovative QIAxpert^® instrument accelerates quantification and quality control of DNA and RNA samples for next-generation sequencing (NGS), while the new CLC Cancer Research Workbench is the first complete bioinformatics software suite for rapid analysis, user-friendly visualization, and accurate interpretation of advanced NGS data in cancer research.

"Our portfolio of universal products for NGS includes innovative solutions for many of the key workflow challenges our customers face in sample preparation. QIAxpert and QIAxcel can assure the highest sample quality, saving time and costs by reducing the risk of having to repeat NGS experiments, and thus helping laboratories to generate valuable insights," said Peer M. Schatz, Chief Executive Officer of QIAGEN. "In addition, our industry-leading bioinformatics portfolio is providing a new dimension of utility for our customers, as our commercial software solutions offer highest quality and performance, helping to accelerate NGS workflows and remove variability. The new CLC Cancer Research Workbench offers scientists and clinicians state-of-the-art analysis and interpretation of gene variants and cancers. At AACR, we will show these products plus new data for our GeneRead™ gene panels - all of which maximize NGS performance for all major platforms."

QIAxpert is a high-speed UV/VIS spectrophotometer that enables laboratories to effortlessly assess the quality and quantity of nucleic acids in up to 16 samples within just two minutes. The QIAxpert employs intuitive software and an interactive touchscreen. Pre-installed smart analysis applications can quantify both DNA and RNA with advanced spectral protocols to accurately differentiate molecules in complex samples, providing a comprehensive analytical profile. QIAxpert aligns well with QIAxcel, QIAGEN's capillary electrophoresis platform for DNA/RNA fragment analysis, ensuring the best quality in nucleic acid sample preparation for NGS.

The CLC Cancer Research Workbench is the world's first comprehensive, cancer-focused bioinformatics solution that can be modified or personalized by researchers. Its user-friendly software enables researchers to identify prognostic markers, identify sub-clonal somatic mutations, detect inherited traits, find biomarkers for drug response, and determine new oncogenes. Advanced re-sequencing tools, in combination with an intuitive graphical user interface, provide rapid analysis and accurate interpretation of advanced NGS data. The CLC Cancer Research Workbench also enables all results to be filtered, visualized, and compared with relevant databases like COSMIC, ClinVar, or in-house curated ones, as well as with other datasets, in order to provide valuable insights and guide user research.

QIAGEN spotlight presentation at the AACR meeting

At the AACR meeting, QIAGEN will host an exhibitor spotlight presentation, "Revolutionize Your NGS Workflow with QIAGEN's Platform-Agnostic Sample to Insight Solution," from 10-11 a.m. on Tuesday April 8 in Exhibit Hall A of the San Diego Convention Center. The workshop will offer new data on the ability of the GeneRead™ panels to identify known and novel mutations in paired tumor and normal formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples.

To learn more about QIAGEN's presence at AACR, please visit http://www.qiagen.com/landing-pages/aacr-2014 or follow the Twitter handle @QIAGENscience during the conference. For more information on QIAxpert, visit http://www.qiagen.com/search/qiaxpert-system. To learn more about the CLC Cancer Research Workbench, visit http://clccancer.com/software/.

About QIAGEN

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands 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 December 31, 2013, QIAGEN employed approximately 4,000 people in more than 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).