NEW YORK, May 31 (GenomeWeb News) - Qiagen will acquire Artus of Germany, a maker of PCR-based diagnostic tests, for approximately $39.2 million in cash, the company said today.
Artus, located in Hamburg, focuses on diagnostic tests based on PCR and RT-PCR for infectious disease detection, pharmacogenomics, and veterinary diagnostics. The company, founded in 1998 as a spin-off from the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, sells more than 60 assays to detect viral and bacterial pathogens and has distribution agreements with Abbott Laboratories and MWG Biotech.
Qiagen said in a statement that "this acquisition is a perfect fit in its strategy to increase Qiagen's value as a partner to the molecular diagnostics industry." The company expects the acquisition will add about $15 million in net sales and $1.5 million to $2 million in net income to its 2006 earnings.
Qiagen reported $380.6 million in revenues for its 2004 fiscal year.
