Germany’s Qiagen collaborates with two Thai universities

Qiagen also announced two new collaborations in Thailand: a molecular techniques centre established with the faculty of tropical medicine at Mahidol University, and a collaboration with Ramathibodi Hospital to study genomic insights from next-generation sequencing (NGS).
“We are pleased to expand our commitment to the people of Thailand, where we have built relationships with medical institutions and the government for more than 16 years,” said William Lin, director of commercial operations for Qiagen Thailand. 
“As we open our new Bangkok office, we are also introducing new collaborations with two of the country’s leading medical institutions. 
“We look forward to providing Thai scientists and healthcare providers with innovative ‘sample to insight’ solutions for molecular testing, including our NGS solutions, as we seek to make improvements in life possible.”
The collaboration with Mahidol University has established the Qiagen-TropMed Centre for Molecular Techniques in conjunction with the faculty of tropical medicine to support research using molecular biology techniques.
“We are happy to join with Qiagen in creating the TropMed Center for Molecular Techniques to bring the benefits of genomic insights to research on malaria and other diseases,” said Dr Wang Nguitragool, assistant professor in the department of molecular tropical medicine and genetics, faculty of tropical medicine, of Mahidol University. 
“Our partnership will demonstrate the potential of academic-industry collaboration, as well as educate the younger generation in techniques of molecular biology.” 
Qiagen has also joined with the Medical Genomic Centre at Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok to help guide personalised healthcare-treatment decisions using Qiagen NGS solutions.
“Qiagen NGS solutions’ highly sensitive sequencing analyses liquid biopsies or tissue samples to identify genetic mutations and enable doctors to select the best possible treatment. We expect this collaboration to have significant benefits for cancer patients,” said Dr Thanyanan Reungwetwattana, assistant professor at the division of medical oncology, department of medicine, faculty of medicine of Ramathibodi Hospital.
Qiagen says its expansion in Thailand supports its strategy of investing in emerging markets, where the use of advanced molecular technologies for medical care and research is growing rapidly. 
“The German-Thai Chamber of Commerce is proud to see another established German brand set root in Thailand,” said Dr Roland Wein, the chamber’s executive director. “I am very happy to see that Qiagen is expanding to Thailand, because they bring their expertise to the local science community and contribute to the improvement of the life of the Thai people.” 
Last year, Qiagen sales in its top seven emerging markets grew by 19 per cent and contributed 16 per cent of total net sales of US$1.34 billion (Bt45.6 billion).