Hilden, Germany, and Johannesburg, South Africa, August 20, 2018 – QIAGEN (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced the appointment of The Scientific Group, a South Africa-based company and wholly owned subsidiary of Ascendis Medical, as its exclusive commercial partner for Africa, excluding South Africa and the Maghreb. The agreement will raise the profile of QIAGEN’s Sample to Insight solutions in Africa and benefit a region with growing needs for modern molecular testing technologies in healthcare and the life sciences.
“We are very pleased to partner with The Scientific Group, which has decades of experience and vibrant relationships with customers across Africa. QIAGEN and TSG share the vision of making improvements in life possible by bringing the world’s leading Sample to Insight molecular testing solutions to clinical and scientific laboratories, and this agreement is integral to QIAGEN’s growth strategy for the continent,” said Mohammad El-Khoury, QIAGEN’s President and Head of Commercial Operations for the EMEA region.
“We are excited to be able to offer our customers a world-class brand such as QIAGEN, known for its innovative molecular diagnostics and cutting-edge life science solutions. This partnership greatly complements our TSG product portfolio and will form a fundamental part of Ascendis Medical’s ‘Winning Africa’ growth strategy,” added Chris Swanepoel, Managing Director at Ascendis Medical.
QIAGEN will be closely supporting The Scientific Group in developing the market in Africa, including assistance in securing and managing national screening programs using QIAGEN solutions for detection of human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer in women, and latent tuberculosis infection, a key component in strategies to combat the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB).
QIAGEN currently serves Africa through its office in Fourways, Johannesburg. In addition to its headquarters in Johannesburg, Ascendis Medical has offices in Zambia, Namibia and Botswana, with an established network of distributors and agents in the rest of Africa. The agreement currently excludes the Maghreb countries Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea.
About The Scientific Group
The Scientific Group is a Clinical Diagnostic and Life Science company with 33 years’ experience in sales and service in the science and healthcare industry. It supplies, supports and services diagnostic laboratory equipment and consumables to pathology laboratories and provide research institutions and science companies with a comprehensive range of high-tech equipment and associated consumables, as well general lab reagents and consumables. The Scientific Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ascendis Medical, a Division of Ascendis Health.
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).
###