QIAGEN Announces its Inclusion in the New NASDAQ Global Select Market

- The Market with the Highest Initial Listing Standards in the World -

Venlo, The Netherlands, June 28, 2006 – QIAGEN N.V. (NASDAQ: QGEN; Frankfurt, Prime Standard: QIA), the world’s leading provider of preanalytical sample preparation products enabling genetic and protein analysis today announced that it will be included in the new NASDAQ Global Select Market. The NASDAQ Global Select Market is reported to have the highest initial listing standards of any exchange in the world based on financial and liquidity requirements. Prior to the change, QIAGEN’s shares have been listed on the NASDAQ National Market. QIAGEN’s shares will continue to be traded under the ticker QGEN on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and under the ticker QIA and the WKN 901626 on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

NASDAQ has announced that beginning July 3, NASDAQ -listed companies will be classified under three listing tiers — NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Global Market, and NASDAQ Capital Market. NASDAQ also plans to launch indexes based on these new tiers.

QIAGEN’s common shares have been listed on NASDAQ since the Company’s initial public offering in 1996. In 1997 QIAGEN also listed its common shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange where the shares are today traded in the Prime Segment. On both exchanges combined, QIAGEN’s shares recorded an average number of shares traded per day of approximately one million over the last six months.

“We are very pleased that our common shares were accepted for trading on the new NASDAQ Global Select Market. This reflects our ongoing commitment to increase QIAGEN’s value and visibility,“ said Roland Sackers, QIAGEN’s Chief Financial Officer. ”We are convinced that the decision by the NASDAQ to create a new market which accepts only companies which meet highest listing standards in the world, with measures including market value, liquidity and earnings, is the right move to further increase the attractiveness of this trading platform.“

“QIAGEN is an example of an industry leader that has achieved superior listing standards, which clearly defines the essence of the NASDAQ Global Select Market,” said Bruce Aust, Executive Vice President, Corporate Client Group. "NASDAQ is focused on leading a race to the top in terms of listing qualifications. In recognizing these companies, we are highlighting their achievement in meeting the requirements to be included in the market with the highest listing standards in the world,” added Mr. Aust.

NASDAQ announced the new three tier listing classification in February 2006. All three market tiers will maintain rigorous listing and corporate governance standards. For additional information about the NASDAQ Global Select Market, please go to: www.nasdaq.com/GlobalSelect.



About QIAGEN:

QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company, is a leading provider of innovative technologies and products for pre-analytical sample preparation and molecular diagnostics solutions. QIAGEN has developed a comprehensive portfolio of more than 500 proprietary, consumable products and automated solutions for sample collection, and nucleic acid and protein handling, separation, and purification. QIAGEN also supplies diagnostic kits, tests, and assays for human and veterinary molecular diagnostics. The company’s products are sold to academic research markets, and to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; as well as to diagnostics laboratories. QIAGEN also provides purification and testing solutions to applied testing markets: such as forensics, animal or food testing, and pharmaceutical process control.

QIAGEN employs more than 1,700 people worldwide. QIAGEN products are sold through a dedicated sales force and a global network of distributors in more than 40 countries.

Further information about QIAGEN can be found at www.qiagen.com

About NASDAQ

NASDAQ is the largest U.S. electronic stock market. With approximately 3,200 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business, including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the NASDAQ Newsroom at www.nasdaq.com/newsroom .

Certain of the statements contained in this news release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. To the extent that any of the statements contained herein relating to QIAGEN’s products, markets, strategy or operating results are forward-looking, such statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations and risks of dependency on logistics), variability of operating results, the commercial development of the applied testing markets, clinical research markets and proteomics markets, nucleic acid-based molecular diagnostics market, and genetic vaccination and gene therapy markets, competition, rapid or unexpected changes in technologies, fluctuations in demand for QIAGEN’s, products ( including fluctuations due to the level and timing of customers’ funding, budgets, and other factors ), difficulties in successfully adapting QIAGEN’s products to integrated solutions and producing such products, the ability of QIAGEN to identify and develop new products and to differentiate its products from competitors’ products, market acceptance of QIAGEN’s new products and the integration of acquisitions of technologies and businesses. For further information, refer to the discussions in reports that QIAGEN has filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Contact Information

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