Qiagen and Centogene AG have announced a collaboration and co-marketing agreement to provide customers more complete Sample to Insight research and clinical testing solutions in rare genetic diseases. Centogene is a leading rare disease company providing insights into the complex interaction between genetics, biochemistry and clinical phenotypes of patients with hereditary disorders. More than 4,000 known genetic disorders are estimated to affect roughly 1 in 10 individuals.

The collaboration includes, but is not limited to, the integration of Centogene’s CentoMD rare disease variant database into Qiagen's bioinformatics offering to enhance test interpretation. The CentoMD® phenotype/genotype database, with more than 4.5 million clinically annotated variants from 135,000 cases from more than 115 countries of origin, represents a valuable addition to the Qiagen Knowledge Base and Qiagen Clinical Insight (QCI) bioinformatics solution. Qiagen will serve as the exclusive global commercial distribution partner of CentoMD. Centogene will license Qiagen bioinformatics solutions to support Centogene’s extensive rare disease diagnostic testing services. The companies, which have been sharing data through the Allele Frequency Community, will also work together to develop advanced machine-learning methods to improve clinical prediction.

“With so many rare diseases, we see an underserved population of patients from the testing, diagnosis, counseling and treatment perspectives. By combining deep, expertly curated resources from Qiagen and Centogene, we will deliver powerful insights for researchers and clinicians and ultimately help patients and families deal with rare and hereditary disorders,” said Dr. Laura Furmanski, senior vice president and head of Qiagen Bioinformatics Business Area. “We are pleased to collaborate to make a difference for these patients and to broaden the rare and genetic disease solutions available for both companies’ customers worldwide.”

“Rare hereditary diseases present a large unmet need for diagnosis and treatment, and Centogene’s extensive test portfolio generates unique and global insights into the epidemiological basis of hereditary disorders and the link between genotypic and phenotypic data,” said Dr. Arndt Rolfs, chief executive offcier and Founder of Centogene. “Qiagen knowledge-based products and relationships in the clinical diagnostics and pharma/biotech markets will help streamline our reporting and extend the market reach of Centogene’s rare disease knowledge and services. These are exciting expansion opportunities for us.”

Qiagen bioinformatics portfolio includes industry-leading bioinformatics solutions for the analysis, interpretation and reporting of biological data and  includes Qiagen Clinical Insight, Ingenuity Variant Analysis, HGMD, CLC Bio and OmicSoft software as well as related databases.

Centogene is a leader in the field of genetic diagnostics for rare hereditary diseases - with a test portfolio that it considers to be the largest worldwide. The company offers a diverse menu of genetic, biochemical and biomarker analyses in 12 major rare disease areas using whole genome sequencing, through exome, panel based testing as well as single gene testing.