NETHERLANDS— Qiagen, a Netherlands-based holding company, has acquired US-based DNA-biometrics company Verogen for US$150 million, strengthening its forensics portfolio.
San Diego-based Verogen, founded in 2017, provides DNA-based human identification products and services, which are used in forensic investigations and to help resolve criminal and missing persons cases.
Qiagen said the acquisition will bolster its sample collection and preparation kits, which are used to separate human DNA from forensic investigation samples for analysis.
The San Diego-based company uses next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies for human identification (HID) and.
The deal builds upon a commercialization partnership between the two companies partners on a distribution agreement in June 2021.
“Bringing together Verogen and Qiagen creates a unique opportunity to better help investigators and researchers to advance forensic science and to find missing persons, accurately identify suspects and exonerate the innocent,” said Qiagen CEO Thierry Bernard.
Qiagen noted that Verogen’s sequencing and analysis solutions are designed for use on the MiSeq FGx Sequencing System from Illumina.
With the acquisition, Qiagen gains exclusive distribution rights for this version of the MiSeq sequencer designed for forensics applications.
Qiagen added that it also gains full access to Verogen’s pioneering GEDmatch database and GEDmatch PRO portal.
GEDmatch allows users to upload genetic profiles created by other genealogy sites in order to expand the search for familial links. It currently contains more than 1.8 million genealogical profiles and continues to grow.
Qiagen said it paid US$150 million in cash for privately held Verogen from existing reserves and currently expects about US$20 million of sales from the Verogen portfolio in 2023, building on about US$5 million of sales for Qiagen in 2022 from the distribution agreement.
The transaction is expected to be dilutive to full-year 2023 adjusted Earnings per share (EPS) by about US$0.03 per share and neutral to adjusted EPS in 2024, according to Qiagen.
Meanwhile, Qiagen has announced an exclusive strategic partnership with population genomics company Helix to advance companion diagnostics for hereditary diseases.
Under the agreement, QIAGEN will be the exclusive marketing and contracting partner in the U.S. for Helix’s companion diagnostic services.
The partnership will leverage the Helix Laboratory Platform, which was granted the first-ever U.S. Food & Drug Administration de novo class II authorization for a whole exome sequencing platform.
This brings a new innovative solution to biopharmaceutical customers in support of hereditary disease therapies, complementing solutions both companies already provide such as Helix’s population genomics programs and Qiagen’s diagnostic expertise, QIAseq Human Exome Kits.
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