WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc., an innovative life science company, has entered into a co-marketing agreement with Qiagen KK – a subsidiary of Qiagen N.V.– for the joint promotion of certain products in Japan in the areas of genomics platforms such as next-gen sequencing (NGS) and qPCR.  

With the joint offering, customers will be able to seamlessly plan and execute complex research projects involving molecular biomarker discovery with NGS, where WaferGen’s SmartChip will offer a powerful platform for high-throughput qPCR-based target validation.  

The purpose of the commercial relationship is to help life science researchers accelerate the process of developing markers that are potential candidates for molecular diagnostics by adding WaferGen’s SmartChip solution to facilitate biomarker validation.  Further customer-facing synergies will be achieved by offering Qiagen’s PCRarrays on the SmartChip and subsequently compatible NGS panels from Qiagen.

Under the terms of the agreement, Qiagen and WaferGen will promote and market each other’s products in Japan, specifically WaferGen’s SmartChip platform and Qiagen’s NGS platform which is currently in an advanced stage of development. This breakthrough next-generation benchtop sequencer is one element of Qiagen’s initiative to create integrated NGS workflows that combine innovative instrumentation and consumables into a sample-to-result offering planned for launch later this year. The two teams will be working closely together in terms of developing the overall strategy and tactical plan that will maximize the commercial opportunity for both companies.

Stephane Perrey, president of Qiagen KK stated: “We are looking forward to expanding our portfolio of life science offerings in Japan through the co-marketing of WaferGen’s high-throughput qPCR solution.  There is a substantial customer need to ramp up discovery efforts through targeted screening and confirmation, and our integrated approach will provide one-stop shopping for a variety of academic and industrial clients.  We will be able to guide customers through the series of steps necessary for an effective biomarker discovery and validation programme, by providing both the instrumentation and assays necessary for the accomplishment of their scientific goals.  We have successfully evaluated WaferGen’s SmartChip System, and we believe that it can play an important role in our comprehensive product offering.”

“We are extremely pleased to be partnering in a joint commercial effort with Qiagen to bring our products to the research and industrial communities in Japan,” added Ivan Trifunovich, President and CEO of WaferGen.  “Our product lines are highly complementary, together providing a total solution to our customers’ needs.  Since our July, 2012 launch of our MyDesign open format instrument, we have received enthusiastically positive reviews from our early test sites and commercial customers in the US and Europe.  In conjunction with our highly-regarded partner, we look forward to building on these results in Japan.  We are confident that our three-part value proposition – platform flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and no need for pre-amplification – will be strong drivers of customers’ interest,” Trifunovich added.

WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc. is an innovative life science company that offers the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System—a next-generation genetic analysis platform for profiling and validating thousands of molecular biomarkers in parallel.

Qiagen N.V., a Netherlands holding company, is the leading global provider of sample & assay technologies that are used to transform biological materials into valuable molecular information.