QIAGEN (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today revealed plans to relocate its QIAstat-Dx operations to a new facility in Esplugues de Llobregat, near Barcelona. This move is part of a multi-year investment aimed at expanding and strengthening the company’s QIAstat-Dx business.
QIAGEN has announced plans to open a new site in Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, set to begin operations in early 2026. The new facility will cover the entire value chain for QIAstat-Dx, a system used for syndromic testing to identify the causes of illnesses, particularly in respiratory, gastrointestinal, and meningitis/encephalitis conditions.
The QIAstat-Dx system is also being developed for use in precision medicine, with recent partnerships announced with Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca. It enables specialty care providers to perform genotyping during routine clinical examinations, facilitating rapid decisions regarding the suitability of genomically targeted treatments.
The new site will further strengthen QIAGEN’s long-standing presence in the Barcelona area and will house teams across Research & Development, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Quality Assurance, and Regulatory Affairs. It will also serve as a center of excellence for R&D in microfluidics, system design, and assay development.
Thierry Bernard, CEO of QIAGEN, noted, “QIAstat-Dx demonstrated its value during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing healthcare providers with rapid testing and vital information when it was needed most. Now, we are expanding its capabilities to address a broader range of healthcare needs, including infectious diseases and precision medicine.”
The Esplugues de Llobregat site, which will span 8,000 square meters, will feature offices, manufacturing lines, clean rooms, laboratories, and logistics areas. It has received LEED Platinum Certification for its energy-efficient and environmentally responsible design, and the new facility will be outfitted with digitalized production lines.
The QIAstat-Dx system uses cost-effective, single-use cartridges for multiplex real-time PCR testing, delivering results in about an hour. The system has received FDA clearance for four panels, including those for respiratory and gastrointestinal infections, and meningitis/encephalitis. Two panels have also received CE-marking for use in the European Union.
QIAGEN plans to accelerate innovation in the QIAstat-Dx system, expanding its testing capabilities to include additional pathogens, such as blood culture identification and complicated urinary tract infections. The company has also partnered with pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca to extend QIAstat-Dx’s use into other disease areas, including neurodegenerative, metabolic, and genetically driven chronic conditions.
About QIAGEN
QIAGEN N.V. is a global leader in providing Sample to Insight solutions, helping customers gain molecular insights from biological samples. The company offers a broad range of technologies for DNA, RNA, and protein processing, analysis, and interpretation, serving over 500,000 customers worldwide across various sectors, including human healthcare, academia, pharma R&D, and industrial applications. As of September 30, 2024, QIAGEN employed over 5,800 people across more than 35 locations globally.
