Summary: QIAGEN is relocating its QIAstat-Dx operations to a new 8,000-square-meter facility in Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona, to strengthen its syndromic testing and precision medicine capabilities.
Takeaways:
- Enhanced Capabilities: The new site will encompass the entire QIAstat-Dx value chain, supporting infectious disease diagnostics and expanding applications in precision medicine for conditions like neurodegenerative and chronic diseases.
- Sustainable Design: The facility will adhere to high environmental standards with LEED Platinum Certification and digitalized production lines to optimize energy efficiency.
- Strategic Location: Barcelona’s vibrant ecosystem of scientific talent, universities, and life science companies makes it an ideal hub for innovation and development in diagnostic solutions.
QIAGEN announced plans to move its QIAstat-Dx operations within the Barcelona area to a new site in Esplugues de Llobregat as part of a multi-year investment to strengthen this business.
Bolstering the QIAstat-Dx System
Set to open in early 2026, the new site will cover the entire value chain for the QIAstat-Dx system, which is used for syndromic testing to identify the cause of an illness—especially in the areas of respiratory, gastrointestinal, and meningitis / encephalitis conditions.
QIAstat-Dx is also being developed for use in precision medicine, in particular to support the expansion of recent partnerships announced with Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca. In precision medicine applications, QIAstat‑Dx for instance enables specialty care providers to perform genotyping whilst patients undergo routine clinical examination, thus enabling fast decision-making for potential suitability for certain genomically targeted medicines.
QIAGEN in Barcelona
The new site builds on the long-standing presence of QIAGEN in the Barcelona area. Teams at the site will include research & development, manufacturing, sales, marketing, quality assurance and regulatory affairs. In addition, it will serve as a center of excellence for R&D in microfluidics, as well as system and assay development.
“QIAstat-Dx demonstrated its value during the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting healthcare providers with rapid syndromic testing and crucial information when time mattered most,” says Thierry Bernard, CEO of QIAGEN. “Now we are building on this success by expanding the QIAstat-Dx pipeline to address a broader spectrum of healthcare needs. This means both expanding the range of pathogens for infectious disease testing as well as developing solutions for other disease areas and precision medicine applications.”
Barcelona provides an ideal location for this expansion, combining access to scientific talent with a robust ecosystem that includes universities, research institutions, start-ups, and well-established pharma and life science companies, the company says.
QIAGEN can also build on the local expertise in the QIAstat-Dx technology, which was originally developed by a start-up from Barcelona and acquired by QIAGEN in 2018.
Further Reading
More about QIAGEN’s New Site
The Esplugues de Llobregrat site will enable QIAGEN to advance diagnostic capabilities in infectious diseases and beyond, helping to meet the growing demand for rapid diagnostics in diverse healthcare settings, from hospitals and clinics to decentralized testing points.
The site will span 8,000 square meters and include offices, manufacturing lines, clean rooms, laboratories and logistics areas. The base building of the new facility has received LEED Platinum Certification, the highest standard in energy-efficient and environmentally responsible building design. The fit-out of the new facility will also meet this high standard and will be equipped with digitalized production lines.
The new facilities will support an expansion into other disease areas such as neurodegenerative, metabolic, inflammatory, and other genetically driven chronic diseases.
