Hilden, Germany, and Germantown, Maryland, June 17, 2019 – QIAGEN today announced a new initiative to help address the global crisis of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The Company will commit resources to support biomarker research and participate in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Challenge. As a first response, QIAGEN is launching QIAGEN Microbial Insights AR (QMI-AR), an integrated genomic database that provides curated, single-point of entry access to four of the world’s largest knowledge bases on antimicrobial resistance.
QIAGEN Microbial Insights AR provides the world’s leading one-stop source of molecular insights into antimicrobial resistance, integrating vast pools of publicly available genomic findings, scientific literature and phenotype data. QMI-AR resources integrates the Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD), ResFinder, and NIH AMRFinder database of resistance genes, as well as the ARG-ANNOT database of peptide markers. Furthermore, under a partnership with ARES-Genetics, QIAGEN announced to make ARESdb, a comprehensive, and regularly updated, proprietary genomic knowledge base on clinically relevant antibiotic resistance strains, available to the global research community. At the time of release in September 2019, ARESdb will contain whole genome sequencing data, AMR markers, and antibiotic susceptibility data on over 11,000 clinically isolated bacterial strains.
In other steps to combat the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance, QIAGEN:
- Joined the CDC’s AMR Challenge, launched in 2018 at the United Nations‘ General Assembly, with a formal commitment to aid in accelerating the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.
- Created a competitive Early Career Innovative Research (ECIR) Award for academic faculty, launching in 2020, to provide materials, software and training support that will accelerate AMR research.
- Committed to develop new molecular and genomic assays for detection or diagnosis of biomarkers for antimicrobial resistance. In the coming months QIAGEN will announce additions to its assay portfolio.
- Committed to ongoing creation of new bioinformatics tools and expanded access to high-quality databases integrating multiple public and private sources for AMR research.
“We owe it to the future of humankind to find new solutions to counter the threat of a global pandemic of antibiotic-resistant infections. QIAGEN has accepted the CDC’s AMR Challenge and is rolling out cutting-edge solutions like QIAGEN Microbial Insights AR to enable researchers to discover and characterize resistance biomarkers and mechanisms,” said Jonathan Sheldon, Senior Vice President of QIAGEN’s Bioinformatics Business Area. “We bring unique expertise to this fight, with QIAGEN’s deep relationships in the global research community and proven portfolio of tools for analysis and interpretation. Progress against AMR can be greatly accelerated with integrated solutions for molecular, genomic and bioinformatics analysis, so QIAGEN is focusing on innovative new technologies from Sample to Insight.”
QIAGEN currently is the only source for complete Sample to Insight solutions for genomic analysis of drug-resistant pathogens. The existing portfolio supporting AMR research and diagnosis includes sample preparation tools, genomic library preparation kits, targeted sequencing assays, and dedicated bioinformatics analysis solutions – enabling customers around the world to accelerate research and discovery in microbial genomics and clinical microbiology. QIAGEN is active in the AMR Industry Alliance.
QIAGEN Microbial Insights AR will initially be available through QIAGEN’s CLC Microbial Genomics Module, an extension to the CLC Genomics Workbench bioinformatics software. For more information on QIAGEN’s CLC Microbial Genomics Module, please visit www.qiagenbioinformatics.com/products/clc-microbial-genomics-module/.
Antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens are a growing global health concern, claiming over 700,000 lives and adding some 10 million days to hospital stays every year, with staggering economic and social impacts. Numerous global organizations including the CDC, World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) have indicated that one of the most effective things that organizations such as QIAGEN can do to help combat this crisis is to develop new technologies that will enable laboratories around the world to diagnose infections earlier, so that patients can be treated effectively with the correct antibiotics.
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) and Life Sciences (academia, pharma R&D and industrial applications, primarily forensics). As of March 31, 2019, QIAGEN employed approximately 5,100 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at www.qiagen.com.