QIAGEN Unveils Diagnostic Assay in the EU to De...

HLA-B*5701 biomarker indicates risk for severe adverse reactions to
Abacavir / Experts expect more tests for similar markers in the
future

Venlo, The  Netherlands -  August 19,  2008 -  QIAGEN (Nasdaq:  QGEN;
Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA) today announced that it has introduced
a new  molecular diagnostic  test to  type the  HLA-B*5701 allele,  a
genetic variation in the Human Leucocyte Antigen (HLA) system.

HIV patients carrying the HLA-B*5701 marker have a 60% higher risk to
develop hypersensitivity  reaction  (HSR)  to Abacavir,  which  is  a
component of  several widely  marketed drugs  inhibiting the  reverse
transcriptase of the HI  virus. HSR is a  serious and sometimes  even
fatal multi-organ syndrome that manifests i.e. in fever,  respiratory
or constitutional symptoms.

On July 24, the U.S. Food  and Drug Administration (FDA) has  advised
healthcare professionals that all HIV patients should be screened for
HLA-B*5701  before   initiating  treatment   with  drugs   containing
Abacavir. Institutions  in other  countries  such as  Germany  issued
similar  warnings.  The  regulatory  bodies  therewith  responded  to
results from a  new study  published in  the New  England Journal  of
Medicine earlier this year. The  PREDICT1-1-Study carried out at  the
Royal Perth Hospital and Murdoch University, Perth, Australia   among
1956 patients  from 19  countries found  that HLA-B*5701  is a  major
biomarker for the HSR.

"The screening for HLA-B*5701 prior to Abacavir treatment allows  the
identification of patients  likely to develop  HSR. Using  HLA-B*5701
tests as  a companion  diagnostic with  the drug  Abacavir  therefore
helps to  better  protect  HIV-infected patients  in  treatment  from
severe  additional   suffering",   says   Magnus   Ingelman-Sundberg,
Professor  and  Head  of  the  Section  of  Pharmacogenetics  at  the
Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and responsible for the  commentary
on the PREDICT1-study in  the New England  Journal of Medicine.  "The
combination of  diagnostics and  therapeutics is  a key  approach  to
eliminating risks  of  side  effects  and  therefore  increasing  the
efficacy of  drugs".  Dr  Ingelman-Sundberg expects  more  tests  for
pharmacogenetic  markers  to  be  introduced  in  the  near   future,
including tests  for  HLA alleles,  which  are believed  to  play  an
important  role  in  patients'  responses  to  a  number  of   drugs.
"CarbamazepineÓ, for instance, which  is prescribed for treatment  of
epilepsy, is  more  likely to  cause  dangerous or  even  fatal  skin
reaction in  Asian  patients  carrying  the  HLA-B*1502  allele,"  Dr
Ingelman-Sundberg adds.

"Our new test is  another great example for  the advent of  molecular
diagnostic tests, which can be used to assess the efficacy of  drugs.
This trend holds great promises  for the future. Enabling doctors  to
customize therapies based on  molecular tests which create  molecular
profiles of patients  or diseases  ultimately leads  to more  medical
innovation, cost efficiency and  - most importantly  - to better  and
safer treatment of patients",  says Peer Schatz,  CEO of QIAGEN.  "So
far, we have only seen the  tip of the pharmacogenomic and  companion
diagnostic icebergs. At  QIAGEN we are  proud of the  roles that  our
sample and  assay technologies  and molecular  diagnostics  franchise
contribute  to  bringing  the  vision  of  personalized  medicine  to
reality."

Today, QIAGEN  offers  the  broadest panel  of  molecular  diagnostic
assays in  the  world. The  portfolio  spans, subject  to  regulatory
approval in various countries, over  120 molecular tests for  various
targets, including high resolution, molecular profiling solutions for
HLA-alleles - an  area in which  QIAGEN has a  leading position.  The
newly  launched  test  complements  a  larger  personalized  medicine
portfolio which includes, subject  to regulatory approval in  various
countries, molecular  tests related  to transplantation,  cancer  and
other therapies.

The new  Olerup SSPÓ  PCR  assay was  developed and  manufactured  by
Olerup SSP AB. It is CE marked in Europe for in vitro diagnostic  use
and available for research use in other countries.

About pharmacogenetics and personalized medicine
The field of pharmacogenetics deals  with effects of individual  gene
variants in response  to a given  drug and is  the fundament for  the
concept of "Personalized Medicine".  Since patients frequently  react
differently to drugs, an effective treatment for one person may  have
no impact on someone else, or  may even cause adverse reactions.  The
main cause of this varying effect is the diversity of humans' genetic
make-up. Understanding the individual differences in the human genome
thus  helps  physicians  select  and  tailor  treatments  for   their
patients. Leading experts such as the  Boston Consulting Group  (BCG)
estimate the market potential for personalized medicine for the  year
2020 to be 22 billion US$. With a current volume of about 500 million
US$ this would  represent an  average annual growth  (CAGR) of  about
37%. According to BCG, the concept of personalized medicine will lead
to significant savings  through optimized medication  as well as  the
detection of previously unknown diseases.  This in turn will lead  to
considerable progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of  many
diseases.

About QIAGEN
QIAGEN   N.V.,    a    Netherlands   holding    company,    is    the
leading global provider of  sample  and  assay  technologies.  Sample
technologies are used to  isolate and process  DNA, RNA and  proteins
from biological samples such  as blood or tissue. Assay  technologies
are used  to  make such  isolated  biomolecules visible.  QIAGEN  has
developed and markets more  than 500 consumable  products as well  as
automated solutions  for such  consumables. The company provides  its
products to molecular diagnostics laboratories, academic researchers,
pharmaceutical   and    biotechnology    companies,    and    applied
testing customers for  purposes such  as forensics,  animal  or  food
testing   and   pharmaceutical   process   control. QIAGEN's    assay
technologies  include  one  of  the  broadest  panels  of   molecular
diagnostic tests available  worldwide. This panel  includes the  only
FDA-approved test for human  papillomavirus (HPV), the primary  cause
of cervical cancer. QIAGEN employs more than 2,800 people in over  30
locations worldwide. Further information about QIAGEN can be found at
www.qiagen.com.

Certain of  the statements  contained  in this  news release  may  be
considered forward-looking statements within  the meaning of  Section
27A of the U.S. Securities Act  of 1933, as amended, and Section  21E
of the  U.S. Securities  Exchange Act  of 1934,  as amended.  To  the
extent that  any  of  the statements  contained  herein  relating  to
QIAGEN's  products,  markets,  strategy  or  operating  results   are
forward-looking, such statements  are based  on current  expectations
that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such  uncertainties
and risks  include, but  are not  limited to,  risks associated  with
management of  growth  and international  operations  (including  the
effects  of  currency  fluctuations   and  risks  of  dependency   on
logistics),  variability   of  operating   results,  the   commercial
development of the applied testing markets, clinical research markets
and proteomics  markets,  nucleic  acid-based  molecular  diagnostics
market,  and   genetic   vaccination  and   gene   therapy   markets,
competition,   rapid   or   unexpected   changes   in   technologies,
fluctuations in demand for QIAGEN's, products (including fluctuations
due to the level and timing of customers' funding, budgets, and other
factors), our ability to obtain regulatory approval of our infectious
disease  panels,  difficulties  in  successfully  adapting   QIAGEN's
products to  integrated solutions  and producing  such products,  the
ability of  QIAGEN  to  identify  and develop  new  products  and  to
differentiate  its  products   from  competitors'  products,   market
acceptance  of  QIAGEN's   new  products  and   the  integration   of
acquisitions of technologies and businesses. For further information,
refer to the discussions  in reports that QIAGEN  has filed with,  or
furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

                                 ###



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