Qiagen Buys Australian Biotech Company, Expands Molecular Diagnostics Portfolio

Qiagen (Venlo, The Netherlands) has offered US$355 million to purchase the Australian Biotechnology company, Cellestis (Chadstone, Australia), thus expanding its molecular diagnostics product portfolio.

The acquisition will provide Qiagen with access to a dimension in disease detection not currently possible with other diagnostic methods--the QuantiFERON technology that is highly complementary to Qiagen's portfolio.

The premolecular testing technology QuantiFERON has been commercialized by Cellestis together with an already marketed test and its flagship product QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT) for detection of latent tuberculosis (TB).

In addition, Cellestis is in the early stages of commercializing QuantiFERON-CMV to monitor the disease risk of life-threatening CMV virus. This patent-protected platform technology enables quick detection of the diseases compared to other traditional DNA-based molecular tests.

The acquisition is subject to certain conditions, including Cellestis shareholder approval, regulatory and court approvals, and an independent expert's opinion that the scheme is in the best interests of Cellestis shareholders. A meeting to consider the scheme of arrangement is expected in late June.

Cellestis chairman Ron Pitcher said, "After careful consideration, the Cellestis board has unanimously concluded that the offer represents an attractive price for Cellestis and provides shareholders with an opportunity to realize considerable value from their investment in Cellestis."

"The offer price recognizes the significant value within Cellestis Quantiferon technology, which the management team and staff at Cellestis have developed into a global leading technology in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis."

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