Qiagen delays U.S. launch of next-gen screening platform
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Qiagen says it will delay the U.S. launch of its QIAensemble SP/2000 next-generation screening and genotyping platform by about six months beyond its originally planned debut in the third-quarter of 2012. During the firm's second quarter earnings call Aug. 10, CEO Peer Schatz explained that the delay will ensure that the company can add Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection tests and other amplification-based assays, such as a newHPV eHC test, to system's assay menu. The firm reported second quarter sales of $262.7 million, up 9% from last year, or 11% on a constant currency basis. The total includes organic growth of about 5%, plus the benefit of recent acquisitions including DxS last September ("1The Gray Sheet" Sept. 28, 2009) and SABiosciences in November (2"The Gray Sheet" Nov. 16, 2009). However, due to particularly strong H1N1 flu test sales in 2009, organic growth would have been 10% excluding H1N1-related revenue, according to the company