NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Qiagen is starting a joint venture in Singapore with Bio*One Capital, a biomedical investment management company based in that country, that will develop molecular diagnostic assays for genetic and infectious diseases, the firms said today.
The venture, called Dx Assays, should be operational by early 2008 and will be staffed with over 30 researchers, the companies said.
Qiagen said it expects the venture will broaden its molecular assay portfolio and expand its market reach in Asia, which accounted for around 10 percent of the company’s overall net sales last year.
Dx Assays plans to collaborate with research institutes and hospitals in the molecular diagnostics field to “bring a strong commercial perspective to the ongoing research activities here,” said Swee-Yeok Chu, CEO of Bio*One Capital.
"The in-depth expertise and talent pool in biomedical research makes Singapore an ideal location for a center for assay development,” Qiagen CEO Peer Schatz added in a statement.