Qiagen deal led to rapid growth at DxS
DIAGNOSTICS pioneer DxS has doubled in size since it was bought by the German group Qiagen 18 months ago.
The firm, which now trades under the Qiagen name from sites at the University of Manchester’s Core Technology Facility and Manchester Science Park, was acquired in September 2009 in a deal which valued it at £80m.
The business was launched by two AstraZeneca scientists, Dr Steve Little and Dr David Whitcombe, in 2001 to specialise in the field of molecular diagnostics – a combination of diagnostics with genetic analysis which is now an industry said to be worth £8bn.
It manufactures kits that make it easier for doctors to prescribe the most effective treatments for various forms of cancer. Since the acquisition staff numbers have grown from 75 to 150.
“Qiagen has really supported the site and put a lot of money and people in,” said Dr Little, who now holds the role of vice president for personalised healthcare at the Dusseldorf-based group, which employs 4,500 staff and has annual sales of £600m.
“I’m just delighted we’ve created this thing in Manchester. We’ve got all these people in all these jobs and I want to make it really successful because there’s a lot of potential in this business. But clearly it doesn’t have to be Manchester so I’m making sure within Qiagen this site is successful.”
Dr Little believes DxS’s early decision to make its own kits, rather than outsource, added to its value and has given it greater stability since the acquisition.
“A lot of companies our size and in our position would say ‘we’re not going to do manufacturing ourselves’. But we want to and once you’ve got manufacturing in place with a hi-tech business it’s difficult to shift. The margins in our business are high so it’s much more important to do it right. By putting manufacturing into the business you create an anchor.
“The lesson is if you want to do it don’t just be a research and development group that could be moved anywhere around the world, but a proper manufacturing base. It’s not immobile but it’s more difficult to shift.”
Along with Wythenshawe-based Gen-Probe, which acquired Tepnel Life Sciences in 2009, and Myconostica – a University of Manchester spin-out based at the Core Technology Facility – Qiagen forms part of a growing molecular diagnostics base in Manchester, which rivals anything else in Europe according to Dr Little.
“Particularly because of Tepnel and DxS the region has emerged with real strength and depth in molecular diagnostics which is just about the hottest area in biotech.
“If I was going to set up another molecular diagnostics firm in the UK I’d be coming to Manchester. There’s an awful lot of talent in Manchester but five years ago there was little experience. But now with us and Gen-Probe there’s a lot of experience and if you want to find experienced staff this is where you would come. We’d struggle to compete with Boston or San Fransisco but in Europe this is the place.”
