EU Launches Project to Improve In-Vitro Diagnos...

QIAGEN led-consortium to develop standards for patient sample
  processing in order to facilitate the discovery and prediction of
                              diseases

Venlo, The  Netherlands,  January  12,  2009  -  The  European  Union
launched a new  research project targeting  to expand the  potentials
and utility  of  in-vitro diagnostics  through  the creation  of  new
standards for  the  collection,  handling and  processing  of  blood,
tissue, tumor and  other sample  materials. Under  the 7th  Framework
Programme, the European Commission approved the initiative's  funding
and scope  to  develop  corresponding standards,  tools  and  quality
assurance  schemes.   The   SPIDIA  project   ("Standardisation   and
improvement  of  generic  Pre-analytical  tools  and  procedures  for
In-vitro DIAgnostics") is scheduled to run  for four years and has  a
total budget of over 13 million Euros. The consortium, consisting  of
a total of 16 companies and research institutions from 11  countries,
will be led by QIAGEN (Nasdaq: QGEN; Frankfurt, Prime Standard: QIA),
Europe's  largest  biotechnology  company  and  a  global  leader  in
molecular sample and assay technologies.

The project  has  been  set  up  to  standardize  the  pre-analytical
handling of patient samples used for in-vitro (in glass) diagnosis of
human  diseases.  Such   diagnostic  procedures   are  performed   in
laboratories,  hospitals   and   doctors'  practices.   In   in-vitro
diagnostics,  the  collection,  handling  and  processing  of  sample
materials are regarded  as particularly critical  procedures, as  the
reliability  of   the   subsequent   analysis   and   therefore   the
meaningfulness of  the  diagnosis  are  vitally  dependent  upon  the
integrity of  the  sample. For  example,  the molecular  profiles  of
target molecules may change or disappear without proper treatment  or
stabilisation during  collection, transportation  or storage  of  the
sample  -  thus  making   improperly  handled  samples  useless   for
subsequent analysis.

"Far too many differing sample processing methods, which then lead to
different results, are still being used", said Arnd Hoeveler, Head of
Unit "Health  biotechnology"  in  the  Directorate  "Health"  of  the
Commission's Directorate-General for Research. "This variance hampers
the comparability  and reproducibility  of  results and  reduces  the
meaningfulness of  the  analyses. More  standardized  guidelines  and
quality assurance  schemes  will help  to  introduce new  and  better
diagnostic methods, which will benefit all European patients."

It is believed that molecular diagnostics,  in which DNA and RNA  are
the molecules of  interest, will  play a particularly  vital role  in
future healthcare  in Europe.  These so-called  molecular  diagnostic
methods allow earlier and more reliable information about the  status
of a  disease than  conventional methods.  Molecular diagnostics  can
also facilitate predictions concerning the future courses of diseases
and lead to individualised  therapeutic measures. They are  therefore
viewed as fundamental to the emergence of the new era of personalised
medicine.

"QIAGEN welcomes this initiative and considers it extremely important
in paving the  way for a  significant expansion of  the potential  of
in-vitro diagnostics",  said  Peer M.  Schatz,  CEO of  QIAGEN.  "The
ongoing standardization of the collection, handling and processing of
relevant samples  will speed  up the  dissemination of  new  in-vitro
diagnostic methods. With its support of this project, the  Commission
is providing strong leadership in emphasizing the importance of these
processes in  general and  molecular diagnostics  and their  role  as
cornerstones of future healthcare in Europe in particular."

SPIDIA is designed as  an integrative project  and further along  the
road, the intention of the project  is also to develop standards  for
the other in-vitro  diagnostics steps, i.e.  the actual analysis.  At
the end of the four years a proposal for quality controls and uniform
guidelines for  the  execution  of  the  entire  in-vitro  diagnostic
process should be in  place. The network  anticipates to share  first
results after two years.


About SPIDIA
The  SPIDIA  project  (Standardisation  and  improvement  of  generic
Pre-analytical tools and procedures  for In-vitro DIAgnostics) is  an
amalgamation of  16 members  from 11  countries, including  companies
such as TATAA BIOCENTER AB,  PreAnalytiX GmbH (a QIAGEN/BD  Company),
DIAGENIC ASA,  Aros  Applied  Biotechnology A/S,  Dako  Denmark  A/S,
ACIES, ImmunID Technologies, academic  partners such as  universities
and  research  institutes  in  Munich,  Florence,  Graz,  Prague  and
Rotterdam. The International Agency for  Research and Cancer and  the
European Standardisation Committee are  also members of the  project,
which is  being  led by  QIAGEN  GmbH in  Hilden.  This is  also  the
location of the  contact office.  The project is  being sponsored  as
part  of  the   European  Union's  7th   framework  programme.   More
information is available at www.spidia.eu.

About QIAGEN:
QIAGEN   N.V.,    a    Netherlands   holding    company,    is    the
leading global provider of  sample  and  assay  technologies.  Sample
technologies are used to  isolate and process  DNA, RNA and  proteins
from biological samples such  as blood or tissue. Assay  technologies
are used  to  make such  isolated  biomolecules visible.  QIAGEN  has
developed and markets more  than 500 consumable  products as well  as
automated solutions  for such  consumables. The company provides  its
products to molecular diagnostics laboratories, academic researchers,
pharmaceutical   and    biotechnology    companies,    and    applied
testing customers for  purposes such  as forensics,  animal  or  food
testing   and   pharmaceutical   process   control. QIAGEN's    assay
technologies  include  one  of  the  broadest  panels  of   molecular
diagnostic tests available  worldwide. This panel  includes the  only
FDA-approved test for human  papillomavirus (HPV), the primary  cause
of cervical cancer. QIAGEN employs more than 3,000 people in over  30
locations worldwide. Further information about QIAGEN can be found at
www.qiagen.com.

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Contact:


Dr. Solveigh Mähler                      Dr. Thomas Theuringer
Director Investor Relations              Associate  Director   Public
QIAGEN N.V.                              Relations
[phone]                        QIAGEN GmbH
e-mail:                                  [phone]
[e-mail]              email:
                                         [e-mail]
Albert F. Fleury
Investor Relations North America
QIAGEN N.V.
[phone]
e-mail: [e-mail]


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