Hilden, Germany, and Germantown, Maryland, September 28, 2018 – QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today applauded a commitment by world leaders attending the first-ever high-level United Nations meeting on tuberculosis (TB) to mobilize $13 billion a year by 2022 to implement prevention and care for TB, the world’s most deadly infectious disease. The heads of state meeting at the United Nations General Assembly pledged to ensure that 40 million people who are diagnosed with tuberculosis receive the care they need by the end of 2022 and agreed to provide preventive testing and treatment to 30 million people.
Prevention is essential to successful TB control because tuberculosis often infects the body, then remains inactive and undetected until – if untreated – it can surface as the active, contagious disease threatening the lungs and sometimes other organs. An estimated one-third of the world’s population has latent tuberculosis infection, and up to 10 percent of infected persons will progress to active TB if untreated. Screening of at-risk population groups and treatment for those infected can prevent latent TB from progressing to active disease. QIAGEN’s QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus), the most accurate test available for latent TB infection, is now being implemented worldwide in tuberculosis control programs.
“We are pleased to see this bold commitment by world leaders to step up the urgent fight against tuberculosis – and the unprecedented recognition and funding for TB prevention. This demonstration of political will is critical if we are to eradicate the world’s deadliest infectious disease,” said Dr. Masae Kawamura, M.D., Senior Director, TB Medical and Scientific Affairs, at QIAGEN, who attended the UN meeting on tuberculosis. “QIAGEN continues to be a committed partner with the World Health Organization, public health agencies and private organizations around the world to provide the most accurate, cost-effective screening available for latent TB. As this new commitment takes hold, we expect screening with QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus to play a major role in preventing disease and saving lives.”
At the UN meeting, heads of state and government leaders agreed to provide $13 billion a year by 2022 to implement TB prevention and care, plus $2 billion for research. They also pledged action against drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis and human rights issues such as the stigma that surrounds TB in many parts of the world. For more information on the meeting and World Health Organization (WHO) programs, see http://www.who.int/news-room/events/un-general-assembly-high-level-meeting-on-ending-tb.
QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus is registered in more than 75 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. QIAGEN’s QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT) and QFT-Plus tests are the market-leading blood tests for latent TB, with faster, less labor-intensive and more accurate insights than the century-old tuberculin skin test. QFT-Plus also has the future potential to deliver increased clinical utility by adding measurement of CD8+ T-cell immune response to detection of CD4+ response. CD8+ T-cells have been shown to play an important role in the development of active TB, and QFT-Plus has been cited by international agencies such as WHO for its potential benefit among migrants and other populations.
Tuberculosis is a contagious bacterial infection spread primarily through coughing by patients with the active pulmonary form of the disease. In 2016, there were 10.4 million new cases of active TB worldwide and 1.7 million deaths from TB, according to WHO estimates. In latent tuberculosis infection, the bacterium infects a person but produces no symptoms unless it progresses to active disease, at which stage the patient is highly contagious. As part of comprehensive programs to eradicate TB, WHO and other international organizations have expanded their guidelines for screening high-risk individuals and treating those with latent infection to help prevent further contagion and reduce the disease burden.
To learn more about QuantiFERON-TB tests and tuberculosis control, please visit www.quantiferon.com.
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), Applied Testing (primarily forensics), Pharma (pharma and biotech companies) and Academia (life sciences research). As of June 30, 2018, QIAGEN employed approximately 4,800 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at http://www.qiagen.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
Certain statements contained in this press 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, collaborations markets, strategy or operating results, including without limitation its expected adjusted net sales and adjusted diluted earnings 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 customer classes, the commercial development of markets for our products to customers in academia, pharma, applied testing and 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).