QIAGEN to create NGS portfolio for clinical research, MDx

HILDEN, Germany—QIAGEN NV recently unveiled an initiative toenter the field of next-generation sequencing (NGS) with the aim to establishthese technologies as routine processes used in new areas such as clinicalresearch and molecular diagnostics.

The company said it is "in the advanced stages of creatingsample-to-result, efficient and cost-effective NGS workflow solutions." Thesewill combine a broad range of QIAGEN products, including automated samplepreparation solutions (nucleic acid extraction, DNA enrichment, librarypreparation and targeted gene analysis panels), with a previously undisclosednext-generation benchtop sequencer in development with Intelligent Bio-SystemsInc., a privately held company that QIAGEN has acquired. New bioinformatics,including solutions emerging from a new collaboration with SAP AG, will beincorporated into the workflows.

The first NGS solution is expected to be launched next year,while details on specifications and launch plans will be released in early2013.

"The rapid advances in next-generation sequencing haveenabled life-science researchers to unlock many secrets about the molecularbuilding blocks of life. Our ambition is to create a new dimension of benefitsfor these technologies by offering workflow solutions for clinical use,particularly to develop new medicines and improve healthcare with advanceddiagnostics," said Peer M. Schatz, CEO of QIAGEN, in a press release. "Whilenext-generation sequencing is viewed today mainly as a research tool, ourinitiative is to expand beyond this and to offer applications designed toaddress the needs of customers in clinical research and molecular diagnostics."

QIAGEN said it anticipates these technologies to be dilutiveto adjusted earnings per share by approximately 1 cent for full-year results in2012 and by approximately 2 cents in 2013, but accretive to full-year resultsin 2014.