Qiagen and Whatman Enter Distribution Agreement

Qiagen (Hamburg, Germany) and Whatman (Brentford, UK) announced a non-exclusive distribution partnership agreement that provides Qiagen with the right to market and sell Whatman FTA (Flinders Technology Associates) and FTA-based kits to all Qiagen's target markets including molecular diagnostics, life science research, and applied testing.

Flinders Technology Associates (FTA) is a simple technology that reduces the steps of DNA collection, transportation, purification, and storage, and consequently, reduces the cost and time required to process a DNA to the final step of purified DNA ready for downstream application. The FTA agreement significantly expands Qiagen's sample technologies portfolio in the field of nucleic acid storage.

The agreement provides Qiagen with distribution rights for existing Whatman FTA products as well as customized products. As part of the agreement, Qiagen will pay Whatman an initial fee that grants Qiagen non-exclusive distribution rights. In addition, Qiagen will pay royalties to Whatman on the sale of all products that incorporate the use of FTA. Other financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.

Whatman's FTA technology has created a standard in the field of collection, storage, and release of DNA, and has a wide range of potential applications including diagnostics, forensics, pharmacogenomics, biobanking, and genomics research. Whatman's FTA products are composed of a chemically-treated matrix that lyses cells and immobilizes nucleic acids on contact, enabling scientists to collect, transport, archive, and release nucleic acids at room temperature using an easy-to-perform protocol.

Nucleic acids stored on FTA and purified with Qiagen's sample preparation products are well suited for downstream applications such as Qiagen's polymerase-chain reaction- (PCR)-based genotyping, molecular testing products, and comparative genomic studies. FTA has also been shown to be compatible with Qiagen's whole genome amplification (WGA) technology for DNA replication currently used in many biobanking applications.


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