Qiagen announces new technology partnership with BGI

Qiagen has expanded its relationship with BGI, the world's largest genomics organisation, to share technologies in a way that will benefit end users.

Under the terms of the new agreement, Qiagen will provide access to its Ingenuity Variant Analysis technology for integrated bioinformatics applications to all customers of BGI's sequencing services.

BGI customers will receive sequencing data generated from their samples through a secure, cloud-based environment, allowing them to take full advantage of Qiagen's leading comprehensive gene variant data and genomic interpretation applications.

BGI will initially provide Ingenuity Variant Analysis to customers in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, with plans to expand to other regions throughout the year.

Laura Furmanski, head of Qiagen's bioinformatics business area, said: "Bioinformatics solutions from Qiagen are growing rapidly as scientists and healthcare professionals increasingly use genomic information to guide research and provide precise diagnosis for medical decision-making."

During the first quarter of 2015, Qiagen delivered an adjusted net sales total of $298.7 million (195.51 million pounds), up by two percent year on year.