2013年2月19日 WaferGen Bio-systems 与QIAGEN KK合作 共同推广WaferGen SmartChip qPCR系统与QIAGEN PCR试剂 

 WaferGen Bio-systems 与凯杰签署日本合作行销协议
加州弗里蒙特, 2013年2月19日 /美通社-PR Newswire/ -- WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc. 今天宣布，该公司与 QIAGEN N.V. 旗下子公司 QIAGEN KK 签署了一份合作行销协议，将在日本借助下一代测序 (NGS) 和 qPCR（定量聚合酶链反应）等基因组学平台联合推销某些产品。在联合推销的説明下，客户们将能无缝地规划和实施涉及分子生物标记物发现（利用 NGS）的复杂研究计划，而 WaferGen 的 SmartChip 将为基于 qPCR 的高通量靶标确认提供强大平台。建立这项商业关系的目的是透过加入 WaferGen 的 SmartChip 解决方案以加速生物标记物确认，説明生命科学研究者加快开发标记物的速度，而这些标记物很有可能会被用于分子诊断。透过在 SmartChip 上提供 QIAGEN（凯杰）的 PCRarrays 和随后来自凯杰、能够相容的 NGS 板，两家公司可以为直接让客户获益创造更大的协同效应。

QIAGEN KK 总裁 Stephane Perrey 表示：「我们希望透过联合销售 WaferGen 的高通量 qPCR 解决方案扩大我们在日本的生命科学组合。日本客户非常需要透过有针对性的筛查和确认逐步扩大发现工作，而我们的合作将为众多学术和产业客户提供一站式购物服务。透过提供达成客户的科学目的所需的仪器和化验，我们将指导客户采取实施有效生物标记物发现和确认计划所需的一系列步骤。我们已经对 WaferGen 的 SmartChip 系统进行了评估，而且相信这种系统能够在我们的综合产品中发挥重要作用。」

WaferGen 总裁兼行政总裁 Ivan Trifunovich 补充说：「我们很高兴和凯杰一起开展这项把我们的产品带给日本研究和产业领域的商业活动。我们的系列产品高度互补，合起来使用可以为满足我们的客户的需求提供全面的解决方案。从2012年7月推出 MyDesign 开放格式仪器开始，我们获得了许多欧美早期试用与商业客户的热烈好评。我们现在希望和我们颇受尊重的合作夥伴一起在日本扩大我们的成功。由三部分——平台灵活性、成本效益和无需预先扩增——组成的 WaferGen 价值主张将很好地引起客户对我们产品的兴趣，我们对这一点很有信心。」

讯息来源 WaferGen Biosystems, Inc.

 

WaferGen Bio-systems and QIAGEN KK Sign Agreement for Co-Marketing in Japan

February 19, 2013

The Two Companies Will Jointly Promote WaferGen’s SmartChip qPCR System Together with QIAGEN’s PCRarrays

FREMONT, Calif., February 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc. (OTCBB: WGBS) announced today a co-marketing agreement with QIAGEN KK – a subsidiary of QIAGEN N.V.– for the joint promotion of certain products in Japan in the areas of genomics platforms such as Next-Gen sequencing (NGS) and qPCR.  With the joint offering, customers will be able to seamlessly plan and execute complex research projects involving molecular biomarker discovery with NGS, where WaferGen’s SmartChip will offer a powerful platform for high-throughput qPCR-based target validation.  The purpose of the commercial relationship is to help life science researchers accelerate the process of developing markers that are potential candidates for molecular diagnostics by adding WaferGen’s SmartChip solution to facilitate biomarker validation.  Further customer-facing synergies will be achieved by offering QIAGEN’s PCRarrays on the SmartChip and subsequently compatible NGS panels from QIAGEN.

Stephane Perrey, President of QIAGEN KK stated: “We are looking forward to expanding our portfolio of life science offerings in Japan through the co-marketing of WaferGen’s high-throughput qPCR solution.  There is a substantial customer need to ramp up discovery efforts through targeted screening and confirmation, and our integrated approach will provide one-stop shopping for a variety of academic and industrial clients.  We will be able to guide customers through the series of steps necessary for an effective biomarker discovery and validation program, by providing both the instrumentation and assays necessary for the accomplishment of their scientific goals.  We have successfully evaluated WaferGen’s SmartChip System, and we believe that it can play an important role in our comprehensive product offering.”

“We are extremely pleased to be partnering in a joint commercial effort with QIAGEN to bring our products to the research and industrial communities in Japan,” added Ivan Trifunovich, President and CEO of WaferGen.  “Our product lines are highly complementary, together providing a total solution to our customers’ needs.  Since our July, 2012 launch of our MyDesign open format instrument, we have received enthusiastically positive reviews from our early test sites and commercial customers in the US and Europe.  In conjunction with our highly-regarded partner, we look forward to building on these results in Japan.  We are confident that our three-part value proposition – platform flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and no need for pre-amplification – will be strong drivers of customers’ interest,” Trifunovich added.

Under the terms of the agreement, QIAGEN and WaferGen will promote and market each other’s products in Japan, specifically WaferGen’s SmartChip platform and QIAGEN ’s NGS platform which is currently in an advanced stage of development. This breakthrough next-generation benchtop sequencer is one element of QIAGEN’s initiative to create integrated NGS workflows that combine innovative instrumentation and consumables into a sample-to-result offering planned for launch later this year. The two teams will be working closely together in terms of developing the overall strategy and tactical plan that will maximize the commercial opportunity for both companies.

About WaferGen and the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System

WaferGen Bio-systems, Inc. is an innovative life science company that offers the SmartChip Real-Time PCR System—a next-generation genetic analysis platform for profiling and validating thousands of molecular biomarkers in parallel. It provides a range of high-throughput capabilities including microRNA and mRNA gene expression profiling as well as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping.

For additional information, please see http://www.wafergen.com

About QIAGEN

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company, is the leading global provider of Sample & Assay Technologies that are used to transform biological materials into valuable molecular information. Sample technologies are used to isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from biological samples such as blood or tissue. Assay technologies are then used to make these isolated biomolecules visible and ready for interpretation. QIAGEN markets more than 500 products around the world, selling both consumable kits and automation systems to customers through four customer classes: Molecular Diagnostics (human healthcare), Applied Testing (forensics, veterinary testing and food safety), Pharma (pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies) and Academia (life sciences research). As of December 31, 2012, QIAGEN employed approximately 4,000 people in over 35 locations worldwide. QIAGEN KK is a wholly owned subsidiary of QIAGEN NV of about 100 employees who market QIAGEN’s entire product portfolio across all Japanese customer classes. Further information can be found at http://www.qiagen.com

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements.”  Such statements include statements relating to the expected benefits to the Company of the relationship with QIAGEN KK combined with the features of its open format qPCR platform and other statements relating to future events that are not historical facts, including statements which may be preceded by the words “will,” “believes” or similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Actual results may differ materially from the expectations contained in the forward-looking statements. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

WaferGen Contact:

John Harland

john.harland@wafergen.com

510-780-2395