Molecular diagnostics.(Pharma in brief)(Brief article)

Dutch diagnostics maker Qiagen has agreed to buy US firm Digene Corp for about $1.6bn in cash (55%) and stock (45%), in a deal that is expected to make Qiagen a market and technology leader in molecular diagnostics. Digene's primary product is a screen for the 13 high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), which is linked to 70% of cervical cancers. Digene's test is the only one approved in both the US and the EU. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women and kills 250 0