QIAGEN plans to renovate its 146,000-square foot manufacturing facility in Germantown to accommodate expanded production of testing products for COVID-19 and other diseases. As part of the expansion, the company has already added about 80 contracted staff and invested more than $7 million in building renovations and equipment. QIAGEN is planning to further increase investments and to add additional jobs to its current more than 300 employees over the next five years.
Headquartered in the Netherlands, QIAGEN provides sample to insight solutions that help achieve scientific breakthroughs and improve healthcare to more than 500,000 customers around the world. The company recently added several new products to make COVID-19 testing quicker and more efficient. QIAGEN employs more than 5,300 people in over 35 locations worldwide.
“Montgomery County and Maryland continue to be wonderful to work with,” said Sean D. Augerson, QIAGEN’s vice president and head of operations Americas and Asia Pacific. “We needed assistance in moving forward quickly with clean room construction and getting equipment in, and they gave us that ability. We are delighted to continue expanding our presence here in Germantown.”
Since April, QIAGEN has provided the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) with the reagent kits necessary for its Large-Scale COVID-19 Testing Program. QIAGEN leveraged its pre-existing relationship with IGS to quickly understand and meet the needs of Maryland’s testing community. IGS and the UMSOM Department of Pathology now analyze thousands of tests daily.
“QIAGEN has a 20-year history of producing diagnostic tests in Germantown and contributing to the full spectrum of life science capabilities we have in Montgomery County,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “This company evaluated its options across its global footprint, and we are so pleased that it recognized that our quality workforce and proximity to FDA made this the ideal expansion site.”
Benjamin H. Wu, president and CEO of the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation, said: “The infectious disease work that QIAGEN is doing in Germantown has made them a key global player in the production of molecular testing kits and the development of epidemic responses. QIAGEN’s expansion reinforces Montgomery County’s strength as the immunology capital next to the nation’s capital.”
