21 May 2019 - - Dutch life science company Qiagen N.V. (NYSE: QGEN) has undertaken the US launch of its QIAstat-Dx syndromic testing system after receiving 510(k) clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration, along with the multiplex QIAstat-Dx Respiratory Panel for simultaneous qualitative detection and identification of multiple respiratory viral and bacterial pathogens.

QIAstat-Dx (formerly Stat-Dx DiagCORE) represents the next-generation in multiplex molecular diagnostic systems that enables fast, cost-effective and flexible syndromic testing with novel Sample to Insight solutions powered by Qiagen chemistries.

The system, based on the proprietary DiagCORE technology, received CE-IVD marking in January 2018 and already has a significant installed base.

QIAstat-Dx is being launched in the US with a comprehensive respiratory panel that detects more than 20 pathogens. The panel is the first test in a deep and broad pipeline of planned assays for QIAstat-Dx in the US, with plans to launch a gastrointestinal panel later in 2019.

With the ability to multiplex as high as 48 targets, a deep pipeline is planned that will span infectious diseases, oncology, companion diagnostics and other disease areas.

Demand for syndromic testing with molecular diagnostics is growing rapidly, to accurately evaluate infections and other diseases that manifest as a set of symptoms with uncertain causes.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, as many as 35m cases of influenza each year lead to several hundred thousand hospitalizations and as many as 56,000 deaths in the US The CDC uses estimates of flu cases because most respiratory infections are not diagnosed or reported with precision as part of the agency's disease surveillance system.

In respiratory syndromes and flu testing, Qiagen estimates the total addressable market at about 1.5m tests per year in the United States.