QIAGEN Inc. Drives The Development Of Companion Diagnostics With Two Key Appointments For The New Pharma Business Development Team
Manchester, UK, 19 April 2010 QIAGEN has today announced the appointment of two high level members, Dr Pia Garguilo and Richard Watts, to the recently formed Pharma Business Development team. This new functional group has been established to oversee all new drug-diagnostic co-development programmes with pharma companies. QIAGEN has a strong track record of pharma deals with high profile drug companies such as Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb/Imclone/Lilly, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim and most recently Pfizer. Other collaborations and partnerships are currently in the pipeline.
The recent creation and rapid expansion of the Pharma Business Development team is part of QIAGEN’s campaign to develop personalized healthcare solutions in partnership with the pharma industry through companion diagnostic co-development programmes. By combining the capabilities, partnership programs and test menu pipelines of QIAGEN and DxS, which it acquired in 2009, a wide range of benefits can be offered to current and future pharma partners. These benefits include international marketing and sales and distribution channels, complete molecular diagnostic solutions with a range of platforms, supporting sample and assay technologies, a leading menu and global regulatory support.
Dr. Pia Gargiulo joins as Senior Director of Pharma Business Development, and Richard Watts will assume a new role as Director of Pharma Business Development. Pia and Richard join a strong team of companion diagnostic professionals which is led by Peter Collins, VP Pharma Business Development, previously SVP Business Development at DxS and includes several other individuals such as Dr. David Jackson, Senior Director of Pharma Business Development, former VP Business Development and Licensing at DxS. The Pharma Business Development team has a global reach with its members based in Manchester and Crawley in the UK, and in Dallas and Chicago in the US.
Dr. Pia Gargiulo is based in Chicago and joins QIAGEN from the Medical Affairs/Oncology department of AstraZeneca LP where she was a Senior Regional Scientific Manager working with breast, lung, colorectal and prostate cancer pipelines. She has over 15 years experience in industry and academia with a strong focus in Oncology. Prior to her tenure at AstraZeneca Pia worked with Oncor, and later Vysis to support development of their respective Her2 diagnostics, and specialized in Leukemia research at the Northwestern Medical School and University of Chicago. Pia has a PhD in cytogenetics from the Northwestern Medical School, she is a regional member of the American Cancer Society, I-Bio and World Business Chicago and was recently appointed to the Governor’s Commission on Women’s Health.
Richard Watts is the former Pharma Regional Marketing Manager at QIAGEN, a position he has held since 2006. He has over 12 years commercial experience in next generation technologies for genetic analysis. Previously Richard worked at Invitrogen following the acquisition of DNA Research Innovations where he successfully aided in the company’s sale in 2004. He has also held positions at Nanogen, Packard Bioscience and Bio-Rad. Richard has a BSc in Molecular Biology from Bath University, he is an associate fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in the UK.
“The opportunities and potential that drug-diagnostic co-development programmes for pharma partners could create are very significant,” said Peter Collins, “It is great to be able to welcome Pia and Richard to this dynamic new team. Both bring a wealth of commercial expertise and a unique industry perspective to the table and will play a key part in further strengthening QIAGEN’s position as the pharmaceutical industry’s companion diagnostic partner of choice.”
QIAGEN offers one of the broadest menus of molecular sample and assay technologies in the industry. The broad portfolio covers all application areas in healthcare: prevention, profiling, point of need and personalized healthcare. With QIAGEN placing a great emphasis on the personalized healthcare function and an industry-wide interest in companion diagnostic co-development increasing - QIAGEN is active in more than 15 partnerships with pharmaceutical and large biotech companies in the field of personalized healthcare - the scope of the team looks set to increase with potential further appointments to follow.
About Companion Diagnostics
Companion Diagnostics is integral to the part of personalized healthcare which allows physicians to determine patients’ potential responses to drug treatment. These diagnostic tests are developed together with drugs for particular populations. By testing for specific genetic variations related to certain biomarkers, health professionals can customize their treatments to achieve the best possible therapeutic results and avoid unnecessary treatments.
About QIAGEN:
QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company, is the leading global provider of sample and assay technologies. Sample technologies are used to isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from biological samples such as blood or tissue. Assay technologies are used to make such isolated bio-molecules visible. QIAGEN has developed and markets more than 500 sample and assay products as well as automated solutions for such consumables. The Company provides its products to molecular diagnostics laboratories, academic researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and applied testing customers for purposes such as forensics, animal or food testing and pharmaceutical process control. QIAGEN's assay technologies include one of the broadest panels of molecular diagnostic tests available worldwide. This panel includes the digene HPV Test, which is regarded as a "gold standard" in testing for high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer, as well as a broad suite of solutions for infectious disease testing and companion diagnostics. QIAGEN employs more than 3,500 people in over 30 locations worldwide. Further information about QIAGEN can be found at http://www.qiagen.com/.