QIAGEN N.V. has acquired DxS Ltd (DxS), a privately-held developer and manufacturer of companion diagnostic products headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom. The transaction is valued at approximately $95 million in cash (subject to customary purchase price adjustments), plus up to an additional $35 million if specified commercial and other milestones are met.
With this acquisition, QIAGEN has taken a strong leadership position in the new era of personalized healthcare (PHC). The Company believes it offers all the required elements to help drive and shape this rapidly emerging trend in healthcare.
In addition, QIAGEN unveiled for the first time that the combined company is currently active in over 15 collaborations with pharmaceutical companies to market and/or develop companion diagnostic products. The programs span genetic, expression, epigenetic and other markers. QIAGEN believes that this pipeline is the deepest such portfolio in the pivotal field of molecular diagnostics for personalized healthcare.
Acquisition of DxS
The acquisition of DxS brings to QIAGEN a portfolio of molecular diagnostic assays and intellectual property, as well as a deep pipeline of active or planned companion diagnostic partnerships in oncology with many of the leading pharmaceutical companies, including seven of the largest drug makers in this field. These assets complement QIAGENs existing strong portfolio of personalized healthcare diagnostic solutions and are very synergistic with QIAGENs sample and assay technologies.
DxS has developed a set of molecular diagnostic assays which allow physicians in oncology to predict patients responses to certain treatments in order to make cancer therapies more effective and safer. The currently marketed portfolio spans seven real-time PCR tests including a test for the mutation status of the oncogene K-RAS, which is indicative for successful treatment of patients suffering from metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with EGFR inhibitors. In addition, three assays are in the near-term pipeline and further assays are in the medium-term pipeline. DxS portfolio of assays, both marketed and in its pipeline, is strongly suitable for use with QIAGENs existing suite of platform instruments, including QIAsymphony and Rotor-Gene Q.
DxS is one of the pioneers which have brought molecular companion diagnostics to market. The TheraScreen: K-RAS Mutation Kit? developed by DxS has already been CE-marked. In the United States, the test is expected to be submitted to the FDA for regulatory approval (PMA) in 2010. It is estimated that in the future the market for overall K-RAS testing could reach up to US$ 100 million. DxS? current portfolio and near-term pipeline includes ten unique and proprietary assays. The company has accumulated a significant intellectual property portfolio for its current and planned diagnostic content.
The acquisition of DxS is strategically a highly important transaction for QIAGEN. It combines two leadership positions to create a very powerful leader in a transformational area of healthcare: personalized healthcare. This transaction is a key element of our strategy to lead in molecular diagnostic-based prevention, profiling and personalized healthcare. These three elements are expected to significantly shape and contribute to future improvements in healthcare and have the potential to provide significant benefits to patients as well as exceptional value for payers, providers, and the pharmaceutical industry?, said Peer M. Schatz, CEO of QIAGEN.
QIAGEN is the ideal partner for DxS to globally roll out our assays, to take our partnerships to the next level and to take a leadership position in companion diagnostics, said Stephen Little, founder and CEO of DxS.Unlike any other company, we believe that QIAGEN addresses the broadest range of companion diagnostic options for pharmaceutical and large biotech companies starting from an independent sales reach over broad technology, R&D and manufacturing capabilities up to expertise in regulatory affairs and access creation to physicians and laboratories.
This combination has the potential to create a classical win-win situation for everyone involved, said Peer Schatz. We believe that QIAGEN can use its enhanced strategic position to leverage the opportunities in personalized healthcare: pharma customers can benefit from a stronger, independent and focused partner to better serve their special development needs, employees can benefit from enhanced career opportunities, physicians can benefit from faster access to better tools for diagnosis and treatment, and healthcare systems can benefit from the potential for increases in effective and efficient treatments. But most importantly, patients who suffer from serious diseases, such as cancer, stand to benefit significantly from these new trends in personalized healthcare, which can lead to the avoidance of unnecessary or even harmful treatments and therefore to an increase in the quality of their lives.
DxS senior management will join QIAGEN in leading roles in the Company’s rapidly expanding personalized healthcare focus area, facilitating rapid integration and focus on the further expansion of this key segment. For that purpose, QIAGEN intends to establish DxS headquarters in Manchester as a Center of Excellence in Pharma Partnering. Given the high level of synergies, QIAGEN expects to grow the Manchester location.
Date: September 22, 2009
Source: QIAGEN N.V.
Filed Under: Drug Discovery
