QIAGEN partners with U.K. to expand biomarker research in Manchester

QIAGEN today announced a partnership with multiple organizations to support creating a global genomics campus in Manchester, U.K., for innovation, life sciences, translational science and molecular diagnostics. QIAGEN is working with Health Innovation Manchester, the partnership which brings together the region’s entire spectrum of public, academic and clinical resources to develop a world-leading genomics campus in the heart of Manchester’s health innovation district, anchored by QIAGEN’s European Centre of Excellence for Precision Medicine and hub for diagnostics development.

“This is a hugely important step change for Greater Manchester's already strong life sciences sector. The new health innovation campus, with QIAGEN at its heart, will support the continued growth of businesses which are driving the future shape of medicine and health care, and cement our position as a world-leader in precision medicine,” said Rowena Burns, Chair of Health Innovation Manchester and Manchester Science Partnerships. “This is precisely what Health Innovation Manchester was set up to do, and combined with our devolved health and social care system, places us in an incredibly strong position to address the health challenges of the population.”

“This will help confirm Manchester as a world leader in this vital emerging industry with enormous growth potential. This is an opportunity that as a city we cannot afford to miss. It’s a win-win – not just creating a raft of new highly skilled health science jobs and an economic boost but crucially also opening up revolutionary new health benefits for people here. Manchester’s future success depends on building on our distinctive strengths and life sciences definitely falls into that category,” said Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council.

The new Genomic Health Innovation Campus aims to attract a cluster of synergistic companies to Manchester, in collaboration with academic and clinical organizations, to drive pioneering research and development – as well as to secure employment growth in the life science and healthcare fields. Financial contributions will come from public entities in the U.K., advancing national and regional strategies to transform the economy with R&D and technology-driven enterprises. The genomics campus will be built on the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s clinical site in the Corridor Manchester innovation district, adjacent to hospitals, the University of Manchester, and other research and commercial assets.

“These partnerships leverage QIAGEN’s rich expertise in Manchester to accelerate innovation as a basis for the development of valuable molecular tests. This is a true win-win situation, bringing together QIAGEN, the global leader in Sample to Insight solutions, with important intellectual assets in the U.K. to accelerate molecular biomarker research and subsequent development of new and promising diagnostic assays,” said Peer M. Schatz, Chief Executive Officer of QIAGEN. “We expect this collaborative initiative to serve as an innovation incubator to support translating genomic biomarkers into clinical use and ultimately to yield benefits for our customers and patients everywhere who need advanced diagnostic insights.”

“Creating a globally-leading genomic campus contributes directly to the industrial strategy of the United Kingdom, as well as innovation-driven growth in employment for the Manchester region. We have deep human resources, with the knowledge and technologies to supercharge R&D in the life sciences – and create new solutions for patients and the healthcare system,” said Thierry Bernard, Senior Vice President and head of QIAGEN’s Molecular Diagnostics Business Area.

QIAGEN’s Manchester site remains central to the company’s short-term and long-term strategic plans for global innovation and development. QIAGEN currently has about 270 employees in Manchester and is committed to further growth. The Manchester operation plans to move into a new state-of-the-art facility in 2020, Citylabs 2.0, at the heart of the new genomics campus.

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 March 31, 2018, QIAGEN employed approximately 4,700 people in over 35 locations worldwide.

Further information can be found at http://www.qiagen.com.