improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . november 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message qiagen n.v. type naamloze vennootschap traded as nasdaq qgen fwb qia industry biotechnology founded november 29 1984 ; 31 years ago 1984 11 29 headquarters venlo netherlands corporate ; hilden near d sseldorf germany operational key people peer schatz ceo and chairman of the executive board dr. werner brandt chairman of the supervisory board revenue us 1.281 billion 2015 1 operating income us 314.5 million 2015 adjusted 1 profit us 249.5 million 2015 adjusted 1 total assets us 4.189 billion end of december 2015 1 total equity us 2 562 billion end of december 2015 1 number of employees about 4 600 end of december 2015 2 website www.qiagen.com qiagen is a provider of sample and assay technologies for molecular diagnostics applied testing academic and pharmaceutical research . consolidated under the dutch holding qiagen n.v. the company operates more than 35 offices in over 25 countries . 1 qiagen s shares are listed at the technology focused u.s. stock exchange nasdaq using ticker qgen and at the frankfurt stock exchange in the prime standard using ticker qia . peer m. schatz is the company s chief executive officer . the main operative headquarters are located in hilden germany near d sseldorf . contents 1 products 2 application areas 2.1 molecular diagnostics 2.2 applied testing 2.3 academic research 2.4 pharmaceutical industry 3 history 4 management 5 structure of the company 6 references products edit for qiagen columns see column based nucleic acid purification . qiagen is a worldwide provider of molecular sample and assay technologies . sample technologies are used to collect samples of tissue fluids etc. and stabilize extract and purify various molecules of interest such as dna rna or proteins from other cellular components . assay technologies are then used to amplify multiply and enrich this small amount of isolated material to make it visible readable and ready for interpretation . the separation and purification of genetic information is a basic precondition for further application or analysis . qiagen provides molecular technologies offered as kits with open or specific target analytes . according to qiagen the company s current portfolio covers more than 500 products and more than 2 000 patents and licenses . 3 in 2014 qiagen entered into a supply agreement with trinean for the manufacture of a qiagen branded micro volume spectrophotometer to be sold under the name qiaxpert . 4 application areas edit until the mid 2000s the company was mainly a provider of sample technologies for the academic research market . today qiagen s product portfolio includes sample and assay technologies specific automation solutions and a bioinformatics analysis portfolio in the following 4 markets molecular diagnostics edit molecular diagnostics detect the nucleic acids dna and rna of target diseases or pathogens in samples such as blood or tissue . these procedures can help to detect viruses and bacteria more rapidly and with greater sensitivity and specificity than other methods such as bacterial culture or immunodiagnostics . 5 molecular diagnostics are also used to analyze individual patient s genomic information to further classify certain diseases and to determine the most appropriate treatment . qiagen s portfolio in molecular diagnostics covers various applications which the company divides into three main segments 6 oncology the company s portfolio in oncology includes tests for a broad range of clinically relevant biomarkers particularly in cancer encompassing companion diagnostics that are marketed in combination with certain drugs helping to guide treatment decisions . in addition qiagen markets a range of gene panels for research applications in next generation sequencing covering dozens of genes associated with various cancers . furthermore the company offers technologies for the extraction and enrichment of molecular biomarkers from body fluids supporting the development of liquid biopsies . minimally invasive liquid biopsies hold promise to transform the diagnosis and treatment of cancer . modulation of immune response qiagen s quantiferon tb gold in tube test qft is regarded worldwide as the modern standard for detection of latent tuberculosis infection . according to who estimates this condition affects about one third of the world s population . as up to 10 % of people with latent tb infection will develop the active disease in the course of their lives the identification and treatment of at risk groups with latent tb is important for sustainable control of this potentially life threatening infectious disease . infectious diseases qiagen offers several comprehensive test panels for detection of bacterial and viral pathogens . the portfolio encompasses assays for the detection of individual pathogens such as influenza hiv hepatitis and healthcare associated infections . the company also has a global leadership position in screening for high risk types of human papillomavirus hpv the primary cause of cervical cancer . applied testing edit applied testing is the use of molecular biology diagnostics in practical non clinical applications such as veterinary medicine forensics food quality monitoring and protection against biological hazards . qiagen s portfolio includes food safety tests for pathogens such as salmonella legionella and listeria allergens genetically modified organisms as well as food origin and quality . veterinary medicine tests for pathogens such as bird flu for which qiagen was the first company to offer an approved test as well as pandemic prevention and monitoring . forensics tests used to identify victims prosecute criminals and determine paternity or lineage . academic research edit the life science research market encompasses all disciplines focusing on living organisms such as humans animals plants or bacteria e.g. biochemistry biomedicine or genetic engineering . much of the research is done on a molecular level targeting dna rna and proteins and helps scientists to comprehend basic processes in cells and organisms . qiagen introduced the first kit for purification of plasmids small ring shaped dna molecules in bacterial cells in 1986 cutting the preparation time for plasmids from between two and three days down to two hours . the company has a global market share exceeding 70 % for certain sample preparation technologies . pharmaceutical industry edit multinational pharmaceutical companies use molecular sample and assay technologies in all phases of the drug development process from the fundamental pharmaceutical research stage through preclinical and clinical studies to the commercialization and application of new products . qiagen technologies can be used to identify genes that participate in the emergence of diseases carry out studies on the functions and interactions between genes or proteins in entire biological pathways identify and validate potential biomarkers and identify and evaluate therapeutic target molecules and suitable active agent candidates . qiagen s products can also be used in the execution of the clinical studies . history edit 1984 qiagen is established on november 29 by a team of scientists at the heinrich heine university d sseldorf . 1986 qiagen launches its first product a kit for purification of plasmids small ring shaped dna molecules in bacterial cells cutting the preparation time for plasmids from between two and three days down to two hours . 1996 the initial public offering of qiagen on the technology oriented nasdaq stock exchange the first german company to do so 7 1997 the initial public offering on the frankfurt stock exchange germany . 2004 qiagen acquires key assets of molecular staging inc. 2006 qiagen establishes its asia regional headquarters in shanghai . 2007 sales reach us 649.8 million and the number of employees surpasses 2 600 . qiagen acquires digene for us 1.6 billion making qiagen an industry leader in molecular diagnostics by revenue and a leader in diagnostics for disease prevention . 2009 qiagen begins building its personalized healthcare business through the acquisition of dxs ltd a deal valued at us 95 million 8 and sabiosciences corp. a deal valued at us 9 million . 9 at the end of 2009 qiagen surpasses the us 1 billion revenue mark and has over 3 500 employees . qiagen becomes one of the first companies to release a clinically verified diagnostic test for the detection of h1n1 more commonly known as swine flu . 10 2010 qiagen acquires ese gmbh 11 giving the company access to point of need testing devices for the application of molecular diagnostic tests without laboratory infrastructure . qiagen launches the qiasymphony as and qiasymphony rgq platforms adding to the company s portfolio for laboratory workflow automation and molecular test full process automation respectively . 2011 qiagen acquires ipsogen s.a. for us 101 million 12 13 adding to the company s product and ip portfolio in the blood cancer space and developing its position in molecular diagnostics for oncology . qiagen also acquires cellestis limited for us 374 million 14 giving the company access to quantiferon technology for disease detection and prevention . the company adds two new offices in the asia pacific region in new delhi india and taipei taiwan . the company announces a comprehensive restructuring program to focus on high growth areas such as personalized medicine and business in emerging markets . the program includes workforce reduction and internal restructuring affecting approximately 10 % of the company s 3 900 positions . 15 2013 qiagen acquires ingenuity systems . 16 qiagen also acquires clc bio which offers bioinformatics analysis software . 17 2015 qiagen acquires adnagen s circulating tumor cell enrichment technology . 18 qiagen also acquires enzymatics enzyme solutions . 19 in late 2015 the genereader ngs system is launched . 20 2016 qiagen acquires the danish molecular diagnostics company exiqon . 21 management edit as of august 2015 the company s executive committee consisted of the following members 22 peer m. schatz chief executive officer roland sackers chief financial officer brad crutchfield senior vice president life sciences business area douglas liu senior vice president global operations thierry bernard senior vice president molecular diagnostics business area dr. laura furmanski senior vice president bioinformatics business area dr. thomas schweins senior vice president human resources strategy & marketing services manuel o. mendez senior vice president global commercial operations structure of the company edit qiagen has a holding structure . the holding qiagen n.v. is located in venlo the netherlands . the operative and european headquarters are located in hilden germany . further regional headquarters are located in maryland for north america and shanghai for asia . references edit a b c d e key figures . qiagen.com . march 2015 . retrieved 2015 08 17 . fact sheet qiagen at a glance . march 2015 . fact sheet qiagen at a glance . march 2016 . trinean qiagen enter into global supply agreement . news genomics & proteomics . gen. eng . biotechnol . news print . 34 4 . 15 february 2014 . p. 18 . diiulio renee 1 march 2006 . molecular diagnostics challenges and benefits . clinical lab products . united states . oclc 60626983 . archived from the original on 19 march 2014 . background molecular diagnostics . december 2015 . peter a. brooke daniel penrice nov 10 2009 . a vision for venture capital realizing the promise of global venture capital and private equity winthrop group . isbn 1584657995 . qiagen acquires uk s dxs in deal worth up to 130m . genomeweb daily news . united states genomeweb . 23 september 2009 . archived from the original on 20 march 2011 . vence tracy 16 december 2009 . qiagen acquires sabiosciences . biotechniques . archived