QIAGEN LAUNCHES PRODUCT PORTFOLIO FOR RNAI/SYBR RT-PCR.

QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt, Prime Standard: QIA), Venlo, The Netherlands, a provider of innovative enabling technologies and products for the separation, purification and handling of nucleic acids and proteins has launched what it believes is the world's first and largest product portfolio for integrated genome-wide RNAi and SYBR(R) Green-based RT-PCR. The offering addresses a critical need in research and drug development. QIAGEN believes that this new offering represents a substantial improvement over current offerings and that it provides access to a new dimension of value for customers in the rapidly growing field of RNAi.

Gene Silencing, or RNA interference (RNAi) uses target-specific sequences of short interfering RNA molecules (siRNA molecules) to knock-down, or "silence" targeted genes to infer their function. The success of the RNAi assay is measured through gene expression (using tools such as microarrays and quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays) as well as protein assays. RNAi and gene expression assays are therefore often used in concert and their synchronization is a key requirement and challenge for successful research.

The new offering developed by QIAGEN provides a very broad range of optimized and validated RNAi-based gene silencing solutions and, in addition, also links such RNAi solutions with the corresponding gene expression assay used in the subsequent qPCR-based knockdown validation. The features of this validated offering create a new dimension in utility and ease of use by eliminating the need for laborious and time-consuming assay development which consumes costly probe-based qRT-PCR reagents as well as eliminating the need to repeatedly design, synthesize, and test siRNA and primers.

The siRNA assay portfolio comprises two types of siRNA products from QIAGEN, the HP GenomeWide and the HP Validated siRNAs. These siRNA products were designed using the innovative HiPerformance siRNA Design Algorithm, licensed from Novartis Pharmaceuticals, a unique combination of the design algorithm with QIAGEN's proprietary sensitive homology search.

Both are highly potent and specific siRNA products which deliver guaranteed knockdown. The matching ready-to-use and validated SYBR(R) Green-based qRT-PCR assay portfolio is supplemented by QIAGEN's QuantiTect(R) Primer Assays for real-time RT-PCR providing specificity and sensitivity comparable to sequence-specific probe-based assays. The launch of this new offering allows customers to purchase proven siRNAs and RT-PCR assays for every gene of the human, mouse, and rat genomes.

In addition QIAGEN has launched GeneGlobe (http://www.GeneGlobe.com), an easy-to-use, comprehensive Web portal for gene specific products. GeneGlobe will allow QIAGEN's customers to find information about, to search for, and to order high-quality products for human, mouse, and rat genes. Today, QIAGEN provides a vast range of gene-specific products covering the whole RNAi workflow from transfection to the subsequent qPCR analysis. In addition, all offerings are linked to corresponding pre-analytical solutions from QIAGEN and therefore allow a complete and seamlessly integrated workflow.

"This exciting product launch positions QIAGEN as the leading provider for standardized solutions in RNAi. RNAi represents a fundamental and revolutionary technology for functional genomics and systems biology. With the launch of this new offering, QIAGEN is once again demonstrating its market and technology leadership by setting new standards in the converging fields of siRNA-based gene silencing and gene expression analysis," said Jie Kang QIAGEN's vice president research & development.

About QIAGEN:

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Italy, Australia, Norway, Austria, Canada, and the Netherlands believes it is the world's leading provider of innovative enabling technologies and products for the separation, purification and handling of nucleic acids and proteins. QIAGEN has developed a comprehensive portfolio of more than 320 proprietary, consumable products for nucleic acid and protein separation, purification and handling, nucleic acid amplification, as well as automated instrumentation, synthetic nucleic acid products and related services. QIAGEN's products are sold in more than 42 countries throughout the world to academic research markets and to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In addition, QIAGEN is positioning its products for sale into developing commercial markets, including DNA sequencing and genomics, nucleic acid-based molecular diagnostics, and genetic vaccination and gene therapy. QIAGEN employs approximately 1,400 people worldwide.

For more information, visit http://www.qiagen.com.