QIAGEN's (QGEN) QCI Is Used by Danish National Genome Center
QIAGEN N.V. QGEN recently announced that its software for interpreting and reporting variants, QIAGEN Clinical Insight (QCI Interpret), is being used in Denmark as part of a government initiative to provide sequencing-based treatments for cancer patients. The QCI Interpret solution was selected by Danish National Genome Center for variant interpretation in oncology genome sequencing.
This latest development is expected to significantly expand QIAGEN’s market share for sequencing, thus strengthening its global foothold.
More on QCI Interpret
Using a variety of next-generation sequencing devices at distributed testing sites around the nation, QCI Interpret offers evidence-based variant interpretation and reporting, and upholds the highest standards for data security and privacy. It also gives testing sites flexibility. Users can quickly move from variation calls to final reports using the platform's agnostic solution, which is easily integrated with any pipeline.
Danish National Genome Centre selected the QCI Interpret solution to enable interpretation of oncology results derived from whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data. The project is a component of a bigger personalized medicine plan that seeks to make WGS the norm of care for pertinent patient populations across Denmark.
It is worth mentioning that, Denmark is among the first countries to use QCI Interpret to support the national drive and establish WGS as the global standard-of-care for oncology. With more accurate cancer diagnosis and treatment options, the nation hopes to collect enough genetic data to fully harness the power of genomics in personalized medicine.
Significance of QCI Deployment
In order to improve population-specific knowledge and reference sets for citizens of the nation, Denmark is pursuing a forward-thinking approach to aggregate genetic data and fusing it with clinical data on cancer patients. For many years to come, this will act as the basis for efficient precision medicine capabilities. This collaboration highlights QIAGEN's capacity to provide infrastructural and technological assistance for national precision medicine programs.
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The main obstacles to apply WGS at a large scale are test analysis and interpretation. For the purpose of streamlining and accelerating the interpretation and reporting process, Danish National Genome Centre deployed QCI Interpret.
QCI Interpret dynamically calculates pathogenicity and actionability based on professional criteria for every variant in more than 31,000 cancer types when connected to the QIAGEN Knowledge Base. Additionally, users can access more than 460,000 pre-written, oncologist-reviewed variant impact summaries to create personalized, patient-specific reports with the most recent research, prognostic data and therapeutic trials.
Industry Prospects
Per Precedence Market Research, the global next-generation sequencing (NGS) market was valued at $6.37 billion in 2021 and is expected to surpass around $24.48 billion by 2030. It is poised to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 16.1%. Increased research and development activities utilizing NGS technologies, its growing uses in clinical diagnosis and discovery applications that require this technology are the factors fueling the market.
Recent Developments
In May 2023, QIAGEN announced that it will offer its premium enzymes as standalone solutions, giving researchers and business clients the freedom to design their own tests and workflows. As a result, QIAGEN is now a one-stop shop for all research needs including solutions for sample preparation, automation and bioinformatics.
In April 2023, QGEN announced that QIAstat-Dx syndromic testing solution is expected to be available soon for use in Japan with a SARS-CoV-2 Respiratory Panel that can detect more than 20 pathogens from a single patient sample. Availability in Japan is expected in mid-2023 after decisions on reimbursement levels and comes as the next step after the recent granting of IVD approval for this test. The entry into Japan will add more than 100 countries worldwide.
Price Performance
Shares of the company have gained 5% in a year compared with the industry’s rise of 3.4%.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
QIAGEN carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Hologic, Inc. HOLX, Merit Medical Systems, Inc. MMSI and Boston Scientific Corporation BSX.
Hologic, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, has an estimated growth rate of 5.1% for fiscal 2024. HOLX’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average being 27.3%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Hologic has gained 15.5% compared with the industry’s growth of 14.3% in the past year.
Merit Medical, currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 11%. MMSI’s earnings beat estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 20.2%.
Merit Medical has improved 54.1% compared with the industry’s 19.6% rise over the past year.
Boston Scientific, holding a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 11.5%. BSX’s earnings outpaced estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, the average surprise being 1.9%.
Boston Scientific has increased 42% against the industry’s 23.1% decline over the past year.
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