Recently, Qiagen NV (QGEN) strengthened its Applied Testing business unit by sealing an agreement with the Institute for Product Quality (ifp), a Berlin-based specialized laboratory center for food analysis. The agreement provides Qiagen access to the rights to 70 molecular food safety tests developed by ifp. The Berlin-based specialized laboratory center for food analysis will continue to produce all existing and future tests as an independent entity.
The tests acquired from the ifp are based on the widely-used real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) analysis. Furthermore, the tests cover a wide range of molecular targets including genetic, bacterial, viral and other food contaminants. Qiagen said food companies can obtain results within 24 hours.
The tests can be fully automated with the aid of the Netherlands-based company’s own instruments. Furthermore, the agreement allows Qiagen to offer complete solutions for all major applications in the food safety testing segment, covering total workflows ranging from the processing of primary samples to the outcome of final testing.
The Applied testing segment, which accounts for 7% of Qiagen’s net sales in the first quarter of 2010, is one of the most dynamic market units at Qiagen. The segment’s revenue grew at 28% at constant exchange rates in the most recent quarter. Currently, the sales made by the company in applied testing are mostly to customers in forensics, veterinary medicine and biodefense. Food safety testing is a growing business whose overall market volume is in excess of $2 billion.
The growing demand for food safety testing is primarily attributable to the evolving consumer awareness and more stringent legal requirements. Furthermore, the growing needs of food manufacturers faced with complex sample base materials, as well as hard-to-detect new pathogens have also contributed to the increased demand for food safety testing.
Molecular tests, particularly real-time PCR-based assays, allow food producers to be certain about the safety of their planned deliveries within less than a day.
The first test kits are expected to be available through Qiagen by year-end. The company expects the transaction, whose financial terms were not disclosed, to impact 2010 adjusted earnings negatively by a cent. Qiagen projects positive profit contributions subsequently. The company intends to augment its portfolio by 70 tests as of 2012.
Qiagen is a leading provider of innovative technologies and products for pre-analytical sample preparation and molecular diagnostics solutions. It has developed a comprehensive portfolio of more than 500 proprietary, consumable products, and automated solutions for sample collection.
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