The complaint, filed in the Local Division of the Court of First Instance of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in Duesseldorf, Germany, concerns European Patent EP 2 276 883 B2. This patent, which is one of many held by QIAGEN protecting the QuantiFERON technology, covers important innovations in QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus that is used worldwide for TB detection.

“Protecting our intellectual property is essential to ensuring continued innovation in infectious disease diagnostics,” said Thierry Bernard, CEO of QIAGEN. “QuantiFERON has transformed latent tuberculosis testing, and we will always take the necessary legal steps to defend our proprietary technologies against infringement.”

This legal action follows QIAGEN’s recent success in defending another QuantiFERON-related patent against an invalidity challenge by SD Biosensor in Germany, further demonstrating the strength of QIAGEN’s patent portfolio.

As a leader in molecular diagnostics, QIAGEN continues to defend its intellectual property to ensure that investments in innovation remain secure and that customers worldwide have access to trusted, high-quality testing solutions.

QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus) is widely recommended by leading health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for identifying individuals at risk of developing active TB. Unlike traditional skin tests, QFT-Plus provides more reliable and objective results, supporting global TB control efforts.

Latent TB infection occurs when the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria remains dormant in the body without causing symptoms. While not contagious, latent TB can progress to active TB, which is a major public health concern. Effective screening and treatment of latent TB are critical for preventing the spread of tuberculosis worldwide.