Germantown, Maryland, and Venlo, the Netherlands, Nov. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QIAGEN (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the QIAstat-Dx Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel for clinical use.

This marks the fourth QIAstat-Dx syndromic test to receive U.S. regulatory clearance in 2024.

Meningitis (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord) and encephalitis (inflammation within the brain) are medical emergencies that require immediate treatment. One in five cases of bacterial meningitis results in permanent complications, such as hearing loss, brain damage and seizures and without prompt treatment, about half of patients will die.[1]

Bacterial meningitis cases in the United States have reached their highest levels since 2014, with case numbers varying from state to state depending on vaccination rates.[2]

Many U.S. healthcare facilities still rely solely on traditional microbiological testing, which often requires samples to be incubated for at least 24 hours compared to QIAstat-Dx delivering results in about one hour. Traditional methods also lack sensitivity, which is critical given that only a small amount of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is collected from a patient for testing.

“Community-acquired meningitis and encephalitis can progress rapidly, and that means healthcare providers need evidence-based diagnostics that can help them make rapid treatment decisions. The QIAstat-Dx Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel addresses many challenges faced by clinicians and streamlines the process so they can get timely and accurate results in about one hour,” said Fernando Beils, Senior Vice President and Head of the Molecular Diagnostics Business Area at QIAGEN. “This marks the fourth FDA clearance for a QIAstat-Dx test in 2024, and a signal of our commitment to expanding our test menu in the U.S. as well as around the world.”

The QIAstat-Dx Meningitis/Encephalitis Panel leverages the system’s ability to quickly amplify many genetic targets at the same time using real-time PCR technology. The QIAstat-Dx panel simultaneously analyzes several of the most common viral, bacterial and fungal pathogens responsible for community-acquired meningitis/encephalitis.

The QIAstat-Dx system is also unique in that results include cycle threshold (Ct) values and amplification curves, which offer immediately viewable information for detected pathogens and provide healthcare professionals with additional clinical information not available with end-point PCR or other techniques.

This new panel marks the fourth FDA clearance of a QIAstat-Dx panel in 2024, and comes after the recent FDA clearances for other tests: 

• QIAstat-Dx Gastrointestinal Panel 2
• QIAstat-Dx Respiratory Panel Plus
• QIAstat-Dx Respiratory Panel Mini 

All QIAstat-Dx panels are available as cost-efficient, single-use cartridges that slot easily into the QIAstat-Dx instrument. All reagents are preloaded into the cartridge, enabling the test set-up to be completed in less than a minute and requires no precision pipetting. Software interprets signals from the reaction and provides positive or negative results for each pathogen, providing clinicians with one of the simplest workflows for syndromic testing on the market.

Learn more about QIAstat-Dx at https://www.qiagen.com/products/diagnostics-and-clinical-research/infectious-disease/qiastat-dx-syndromic-testing/qiastat-dx-na.

About QIAGEN

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands-based holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample to Insight solutions that enable customers to gain valuable molecular insights from samples containing the building blocks of life. Our sample technologies isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from blood, tissue and other materials. Assay technologies make these biomolecules visible and ready for analysis. Bioinformatics software and knowledge bases interpret data to report relevant, actionable insights. Automation solutions tie these together in seamless and cost-effective workflows. QIAGEN provides solutions to more than 500,000 customers around the world in Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare) and Life Sciences (academia, pharma R&D and industrial applications, primarily forensics). As of June 30, 2024, QIAGEN employed more than 5,900 people in over 35 locations worldwide. Further information can be found at http://www.qiagen.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain statements contained in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. To the extent that any of the statements contained herein relating to QIAGEN's products, including those products used in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, timing for launch and development, marketing and/or regulatory approvals, financial and operational outlook, growth and expansion, collaborations, markets, strategy or operating results, including without limitation its expected adjusted net sales and adjusted diluted earnings results, are forward-looking, such statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations, regulatory processes and dependence on logistics), variability of operating results and allocations between customer classes, the commercial development of markets for our products to customers in academia, pharma, applied testing and molecular diagnostics; changing relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic partners; competition; rapid or unexpected changes in technologies; fluctuations in demand for QIAGEN's products (including fluctuations due to general economic conditions, the level and timing of customers' funding, budgets and other factors); our ability to obtain regulatory approval of our products; difficulties in successfully adapting QIAGEN's products to integrated solutions and producing such products; the ability of QIAGEN to identify and develop new products and to differentiate and protect our products from competitors' products; market acceptance of QIAGEN's new products and the integration of acquired technologies and businesses; actions of governments, global or regional economic developments, weather or transportation delays, natural disasters, political or public health crises, including the breadth and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the demand for our products and other aspects of our business, or other force majeure events; as well as the possibility that expected benefits related to recent or pending acquisitions may not materialize as expected; and the other factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in Item 3 of our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F. For further information, please refer to the discussions in reports that QIAGEN has filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Source: QIAGEN N.V.
Category: Corporate

[1] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/meningitis, as of October 30, 2024
[2] https://www.cdc.gov/meningococcal/php/surveillance/index.html, as of October 30, 2024