November 23, 2020 / Regnan Global Equity Impact Solutions Fund
Regnan’s Global Equity Impact Solutions Fund invests in mission-driven companies we believe are well placed to solve the world’s biggest problems.
This is the story of one of those companies, molecular diagnostics innovator Qiagen.
Laboratory and diagnostic tests influence 70 per cent of medical decisions — but account for only 2% to 5% of healthcare spending, the US Health Industry Distributors Association reports.
Greater diagnostic testing could save $US900 million in annual healthcare costs in the US alone, the association estimates.
In poor and middle-income countries lack of diagnostic testing is even more serious.
Some 1.5 million people died of tuberculosis in 2018 — a number that would be much smaller if the disease was identified earlier according to the World Health Organisation.
Two-thirds of cases were in eight emerging economies.
Qiagen offers innovative testing solutions
Regnan’s impact investment team aims to outperform the broad global equity market over the long term by investing in companies that provide solutions for the world’s growing sustainability needs.
One of those companies is Netherlands-based Qiagen.
Qiagen makes molecular testing equipment and consumables for a global customer base.
Molecular diagnostics enables researchers and clinicians to quickly use biological samples to diagnose and monitor diseases, assess patient health and decide which therapies work best.
Qiagen‘s molecular testing products diagnose a wide range of conditions, including tuberculosis, influenza, HIV and hospital infections. They are designed for use without requiring sophisticated expertise.
Qiagen is using this product philosophy to expand beyond its mainstay of infectious diseases into immune disorders and prenatal and neonatal health.
For example, the business is soon to launch a low-cost version of its revolutionary diagnostic test for latent tuberculosis detection, QuantiFERON–TB Gold.
This will make the test available for the first time in poor countries with a high incidence rate and a lack of laboratories.
Qiagen is also ramping up production of its comprehensive Covid-19 diagnostics portfolio. It is the world’s leading provider of RNA extraction kits, used as inputs for PCR tests, which detect active infections.
Qiagen’s competitive position
Leadership in technology and innovation – particularly in molecular diagnostics — differentiates Qiagen.
In the global struggle to increase and improve global diagnostics capabilities, Qiagen has achieved breakthroughs.
It has also contributed through improving the speed, accuracy and accessibility of existing diagnostic products.
Qiagen helps solve the world’s biggest problems
Regnan identifies companies such as Qiagen using the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 underlying targets as an investment lens.
The SDGs are a 15-year plan to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere.
In 2019 the UN called for “a decade of ambitious action to deliver the goals by 2030.
“Evidence shows that investing in the SDGs makes economic sense, with estimates highlighting that achieving the SDGs could open up US$12 trillion of market opportunities and create 380 million new jobs,” the UN says.
Drawing on the SDGs and their targets, Regnan’s investment team has built a comprehensive, proprietary investment framework – the Regnan SDG Taxonomy.
Qiagen’s activities contribute to three SDG targets for 2030:
- SDG target 3.2: End preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births
- SDG target 3.3: End the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases
- SDG target 3.4: Reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being
Regnan is a responsible investment leader with a long and proud history of providing insight and advice to investors with an interest in long-term, broad-based or values-aligned performance.
Building on that expertise, in 2019 Regnan expanded into responsible investment funds management, backed by the considerable resources of Pendal Group.
Regnan Global Equity Impact Solutions Fund is distributed in Australia by Pendal and in the UK, Europe and the US by J O Hambro Capital Management.
For more information, please contact Head of Regnan and Responsible Investment Distribution Jeremy Dean at jeremy.dean@regnan.com.
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