VENLO, The Netherlands and MELBOURNE, Australia, August 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt, Prime Standard: QIA) today announced that its acquisition of all the ordinary shares in Cellestis Limited (“Cellestis”) by a way of a scheme of arrangement (“Scheme”) has been implemented.
The closing of the transaction follows the official approval of Cellestis’ shareholders and Australian courts. QIAGEN had announced the initial proposal to acquire Cellestis on April 4, 2011. With closing of the transaction Cellestis will become a fully consolidated subsidiary of the QIAGEN group.
“We are pleased to have completed the transaction and will now initiate the integration process”, commented Peer M. Schatz, Chief Executive Officer of QIAGEN N.V. “We welcome our new employees to QIAGEN and look forward to further growing the QuantiFERON® technology together to provide greater benefits to patients and healthcare providers, thereby creating significant value for QIAGEN shareholders.”
Cellestis has developed and successfully commercialized the QuantiFERON® technology, a proprietary approach for early disease detection not possible with other diagnostic methods. Cellestis’ QuantiFERON®-TB Gold (QFT) is a leading test for detection of latent tuberculosis. The QuantiFERON®-CMV test, which is in early stages of commercialization, enables monitoring of disease risk from the life-threatening cytomegalovirus (CMV).* QuantiFERON® is highly complementary to QIAGEN’s portfolio of molecular diagnostics and can help drive the use of traditional DNA- and RNA-based molecular diagnostics.
*QuantiFERON®-CMV is IVD CE marked for clinical use in the European Union and is a Research Use Only Product in the United States.
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 nearly 3,600 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information about QIAGEN can be found at http://www.qiagen.com/.
Certain of the statements contained in this news 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, markets, strategy or operating results, including without limitation its expected operating 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 business segments, the commercial development of markets for our products in applied testing, personalized healthcare, clinical research, proteomics, women’s health/HPV testing and nucleic acid-based 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).
Contacts:
Public Relations:
Dr. Thomas Theuringer
Director Public Relations
+49-2103-29-11826
+1-240-686-7425
e-mail: pr@qiagen.com
http://www.twitter.com/qiagen
in Australia:
Amanda Lee / Andrew Stokes
+61-2-8298-6100
e-mail: Amanda.Lee@fd.com / Andrew.Stokes@fd.com
Investor Relations:
John Gilardi
VP Corporate Communications
+49-2103-29-11711
Dr. Solveigh Maehler
Director Investor Relations
+49-2103-29-11710
Albert F. Fleury
Investor Relations North America
+1-301-944-7028
e-mail: ir@qiagen.com
SOURCE Qiagen N V
