CENTOGENE GmbH and QIAGEN (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced a collaboration and co-marketing agreement to provide customers more complete Sample to Insight research and clinical testing solutions in rare genetic diseases. CENTOGENE is a leading rare disease company providing insights into the complex interaction between genetics, biochemistry and clinical phenotypes of patients with hereditary disorders. More than 4,000 known genetic disorders are estimated to affect roughly 1 in 10 individuals.
The collaboration focuses on the integration of CENTOGENE’s CentoMD® rare disease variant database into QIAGEN’s bioinformatics offering to enhance test interpretation. The CentoMD® phenotype/genotype database, with more than 4.5 million clinically annotated variants from 135,000 cases from more than 115 countries of origin, represents a valuable addition to the QIAGEN Knowledge Base and QIAGEN Clinical Insight (QCI) bioinformatics solution. QIAGEN will serve as the exclusive global commercial distribution partner of CentoMD®. CENTOGENE will license QIAGEN’s bioinformatics solutions to support CENTOGENE’s extensive rare disease diagnostic testing services. The companies, which have been sharing data through the Allele Frequency Community, will also work together to develop advanced machine-learning methods to improve clinical prediction.
“With so many rare diseases, we see an underserved population of patients from the testing, diagnosis, counseling and treatment perspectives. By combining deep, expertly curated resources from QIAGEN and CENTOGENE, we will deliver powerful insights for researchers and clinicians and ultimately help patients and families deal with rare and hereditary disorders,” said Dr. Laura Furmanski, Senior Vice President and Head of QIAGEN’s Bioinformatics Business Area. “We are pleased to collaborate to make a difference for these patients and to broaden the rare and genetic disease solutions available for both companies’ customers worldwide.”
“Rare hereditary diseases present a large unmet need for diagnosis and treatment, and CENTOGENE’s extensive test portfolio generates unique and global insights into the epidemiological basis of hereditary disorders and the link between genotypic and phenotypic data,” said Dr. Arndt Rolfs, CEO and Founder of CENTOGENE. “QIAGEN’s knowledge-based products and relationships in the clinical diagnostics and pharma/biotech markets will help streamline our reporting and extend the market reach of CENTOGENE’s rare disease knowledge and services. These are exciting expansion opportunities for us.”
QIAGEN’s bioinformatics portfolio includes industry-leading bioinformatics solutions for the analysis, interpretation and reporting of biological data and includes QIAGEN Clinical Insight, Ingenuity Variant Analysis, HGMD, CLC Bio and OmicSoft software as well as related databases. For more information, click here.
CENTOGENE is a leader in the field of genetic diagnostics for rare hereditary diseases - with a test portfolio that it considers to be the largest worldwide. The company offers a diverse menu of genetic, biochemical and biomarker analyses in 12 major rare disease areas using whole genome sequencing, through exome, panel based testing as well as single gene testing.
About CENTOGENE
Founded in 2005, CENTOGENE GmbH is the worldwide leader in the field of genetic diagnostics for rare diseases. Led by Dr. Arndt Rolfs, MD, CEO and Founder, CENTOGENE GmbH provides test portfolios of over 3,200 genes, including panels, whole exome and whole genome testing as well as a unique biomarker pipeline. The company is currently analyzing patients samples from over 100 countries, with an annual increase of >40% contributing to their proprietary database – CentoMD® , the largest, fully curated, mutation database for rare diseases.
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), Applied Testing (forensics, veterinary testing and food safety), Pharma (pharma and biotech companies) and Academia (life sciences research). As of June 30, 2017, QIAGEN employed approximately 4,600 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at <link "http://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), Applied Testing (forensics, veterinary testing and food safety), Pharma (pharma and biotech companies) and Academia (life sciences research). As of June 30, 2017, QIAGEN employed approximately 4,600 people in over 35 locations worldwide.
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, 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. 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).
