From Lab to Nasdaq: The Qiagen Founder: Stories and Lessons in Biotech Entrepreneurship

vor 1 Tag53 Min. Lesezeit

Professor Detlev Riesner, Qiagen founder, during an interview discussing his career in biotech entrepreneurship.

Management Summary

Imagine co-founding a biotech company in Germany in the 1980s, navigating uncharted territory without venture capital, and ultimately leading it to a Nasdaq listing and DAX inclusion. This is the extraordinary story of Professor Detlev Riesner, co-founder of Qiagen. In this in-depth interview, we delve into his journey from groundbreaking academic research to building a global biotech powerhouse. Discover the key lessons in biotech entrepreneurship, the challenges of commercializing scientific discoveries, and the evolution of the German biotech ecosystem.

Note: This interview was so extensive (almost 1h 20 minutes), that we decided during editing that we would split this episode in two pieces.

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What does the Qiagen founder think are the key challenges in building a biotech company?

Building a biotech company presents several unique hurdles, including:

Securing funding, especially in early stages.
Navigating complex regulatory landscapes.
Translating scientific discoveries into viable products.
Attracting and retaining top scientific talent.
Scaling production and distribution.

The Academic Roots: From Virology Research to Entrepreneurial Vision

Professor Detlev Riesner's journey began with a strong foundation in academia. His research at Heinrich Heine University, Technical University of Darmstadt, and Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies, under the guidance of a Nobel laureate, laid the groundwork for his future endeavors.

Early Research on Nucleic Acids by the Quiagen Founder

Professor Riesner's early research focused on nucleic acids and virology, delving into the complexities of these fundamental building blocks of life. This deep scientific expertise became the bedrock upon which Qiagen was built.

The Spark of Entrepreneurship

"It wasn't easy," Professor Riesner recounts in the podcast, reflecting on the challenges of transitioning from academia to entrepreneurship. The leap from the lab to the business world required a unique blend of scientific knowledge, business acumen, and unwavering determination.

Navigating the Hurdles: Funding and Growth in the Early Days

Launching a biotech startup in Germany in the 1980s presented unique challenges, particularly in securing funding. Venture capital was not as prevalent as it is today, forcing entrepreneurs to be creative and resourceful in their pursuit of investment.

Securing Early Funding

"We had to be very persistent," Professor Riesner explains. "Finding investors who understood the potential of biotech and were willing to take a risk was a significant hurdle." The early days were marked by financial constraints and the need to carefully manage resources.

Overcoming Regulatory Challenges

Biotech companies operate in a highly regulated environment. Navigating the complex web of regulations and obtaining necessary approvals can be a time-consuming and costly process. Qiagen faced its share of regulatory hurdles, requiring careful planning and meticulous execution.

Qiagen's Journey: From Germany to Nasdaq and Beyond

Qiagen's success story is a testament to the power of innovation, perseverance, and strategic vision. The company's growth trajectory took it from its roots in Germany to the global stage, culminating in a Nasdaq listing in 1996 – a historic milestone as the first German company to achieve this.

The Nasdaq Listing: A Pivotal Moment

The Nasdaq listing marked a pivotal moment for Qiagen, providing access to capital and increased visibility. This milestone not only fueled the company's growth but also paved the way for other German biotech companies to pursue similar paths.

DAX Inclusion: Reaching the Pinnacle

Qiagen's journey reached its pinnacle with its inclusion in the DAX, Germany's elite stock index. This achievement solidified Qiagen's position as a leading biotech company and a symbol of German innovation. Learn more about DAX companies here.

Lessons in Biotech Entrepreneurship: Insights for Founders

Professor Riesner's journey offers valuable insights for aspiring biotech entrepreneurs. His experiences highlight the importance of:

Strong Scientific Foundation: Deep expertise in the field is crucial for driving innovation and overcoming technical challenges.
Perseverance and Resilience: The path to success is rarely linear. Entrepreneurs must be prepared to face setbacks and learn from failures.
Strategic Vision: A clear vision for the company's future is essential for attracting investors, building a strong team, and navigating the complexities of the biotech industry.
Adaptability: The biotech landscape is constantly evolving. Entrepreneurs must be able to adapt to new technologies, market trends, and regulatory changes.

The German Biotech Ecosystem: Opportunities and Challenges

The German biotech ecosystem has evolved significantly since Qiagen's early days. While challenges remain, the ecosystem offers numerous opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs.

Funding Landscape: Evolution and Opportunities

The funding landscape for biotech startups in Germany has become more robust, with increased availability of venture capital and other funding sources. However, securing funding remains a competitive process, requiring startups to present a compelling value proposition and a strong business plan.

University Spin-Offs: A Source of Innovation

University spin-offs play a crucial role in driving biotech innovation in Germany. These ventures leverage cutting-edge research from academic institutions to develop new technologies and therapies. Explore more about university spin-offs.

The Future of Biotech: Innovation and Opportunities

The biotech industry is poised for continued growth and innovation, driven by advancements in genomics, personalized medicine, and other fields. Entrepreneurs who can identify unmet needs and develop innovative solutions will be well-positioned for success.

"The future of biotech is incredibly exciting," Professor Riesner says. "We are on the cusp of major breakthroughs that have the potential to transform healthcare and improve lives."

Conclusion: A Legacy of Innovation and Inspiration

Professor Detlev Riesner's story is a testament to the power of scientific curiosity, entrepreneurial spirit, and unwavering dedication. His journey from the lab to Nasdaq serves as an inspiration for aspiring biotech entrepreneurs and a reminder that with vision, perseverance, and a commitment to innovation, it is possible to achieve extraordinary success. Discover the latest biotech trends.

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Automated Transcript (Full Recording)

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:00:09]:

Hello, and welcome, everybody. This is Joe from StartUprate.ao, your startup podcast and YouTube blog from Germany. Today, I bring you another interesting interview. Imagine starting your career under the supervision of a Nobel laureate, diving deep into groundbreaking research, and then making the bold leap into entrepreneurship, only to build a company that will become a global biotech powerhouse. Today, we're talking to professor Detlef Reisner, a scientist turned entrepreneur, who shared his academic who started his academic journey at Heinrich Heine University and Technical University, Darmstadt, spent time at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studies, and then took an even bigger leap trying to turn cutting edge science into a business. But it wasn't easy. Imagine hurdles of launching a biotech startup in Germany in the 1980s before venture capital was even a thing there against all odds, co founding KiaGin, which became the first ever German company to list on Nasdaq in 1996. And as if that wasn't enough, he later led the company as chair of the supervisory board, bringing into DAX forty Germany's elite stock index.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:01:24]:

What does it take to bridge science and business, to push through failures, and to build a global biotech leader? That's what we, FIP, will fight out today. Stay tuned. Professor Wiesner, welcome to stutterray.ao.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:01:37]:

Welcome. Yeah. Thank you. I'm happy to answer your questions.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:01:43]:

Yes. And I do have a lot here for you. At first, would you consider yourself to be an example other entrepreneurs could follow in what you've learned?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:02:02]:

In in, to a particular extent, yes. Yeah. If I speak to younger people, then I say the main point is that you have a good idea. Yeah. You have not to do the market, to estimate the market situation. Yeah? If you can estimate the market situation, then your idea is not innovative. Yeah. When your idea is innovative, then there is no market.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:02:34]:

You have to build a new market. That is an innovation. That is the first point. Whether I have seen that at that time, I don't know. I do not remember. But that is from the retrospective, what I would say. Yeah. And, so today, I would say, yeah, it's it's important.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:02:53]:

You have a good idea. People will sometimes use it. Mostly, if you are working in academia, other academicians will use it. And that is already okay if other academicians will use it to the normal market. It goes later anyway. Yeah. Therefore, that's the point. And the second is, yeah, if you have an academic position, you have to agree that it is a lot of additional work.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:03:28]:

Yeah? And as a professor alone, you cannot do that. That is clear. That is clear. So you have to good either to good students or to good cooperators or to good to, very good colleagues so that you have that you can work in a team. From the beginning on, we worked always in a team. Yeah? And I, fulfilled, also in future, always my academic position, but I was, so to speak, the link to the science, which I could always then bring to the company. And, but the link to the science where the as the younger people had to do the link to the market to build on the link to the market, that was not my job. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:04:22]:

And so I what you need is a lot of endurance. And what I see and those things sometimes I see I saw that later. You have to have the capabilities, the mental capability, particularly the capability of your mindset, of your character that you can divide success. Some people I met, they said, oh, the main point is that I have more than 50%, so I can say what to do. Nonsense. Bullshit, I would say. Yeah. What to do is always then, is the, the opinion of the people who give the money.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:05:08]:

And whether you have over 50 or less than 50, doesn't matter anyway. The people who give the money, they have an extremely important word for the company, and we had to see that too. Yeah. So that's the point. I think and then if you haven't the next sitting around, you you have to give up shares. It's completely clear. But I remember the word of Moshe Alafi, who was one of our investors. Moshe Alafi was a very successful, Silicon Valley Investor.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:05:47]:

And he told us, he said, as boys, you normally call us boys, if you have 50% of a company, which doesn't work well, All you have are are sleepless light nights, sleepless nights. If you have 2% of a well running company, you are rich people. That is the difference between 502%. Okay. So that is probably the first one I have to say. I don't know. Did it answer your question to some extent at least?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:06:25]:

Yes. And we may also add that still today, you are pretty active and involved. I I've seen you at the Deutsche Business Angel Talk in November in Mainz. We didn't get the opportunity to talk there, but they've been kind enough to help me organize this interview here. Big thank to the organization team there. Could you share the key experiences during your time at Princeton and University of California, San Francisco that influenced the trajectory of your research?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:07:01]:

Princeton, yes. In Princeton, I worked mainly on on nucleic acids and nucleic acid protein interactions. And that was important for the research when I was back. But when I have to say in print, I was a postdoc, and I were interested in my academic career. I I wrote already a patent, but, this patent never bought any money. Yeah. So it was too theoretical. So, I can as is a the Princeton experience was a very good personal experience and scientific experience.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:07:40]:

The impact to the company was probably, not so big. And, the UCSF experience, that was at the time when I had to say, oh, I set up a company. I was involved in setting up the company. As a professor, I have to start now new things. Yeah. The company is running. But, as a professor, I have to start new things, new scientific things. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:08:05]:

And that was the reason why I went to Stanley Posina for postdocs. Before, I worked on infectious nucleic acids. And then I heard I had a lot of contact with Stanley Posner. He said, there are infectious proteins. Oh, I said, how interesting. Let me go into that field now. The nucleic acids, were taken by the company already. So the company was already working when I had my sabbatical in San Francisco.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:08:39]:

Mhmm. I see. Your work on virologs and prions has been pioneering. What initially drew you to study these infectious agents, and what were some of the challenges you faced in this research?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:08:57]:

Yeah. That's really the now this question comes to the point of the company. Yeah. Viroids where infectious look like acids. And I heard from my German colleagues there that those things exist. Lot of people thought it doesn't exist at all. Yeah. A small look like acid cannot be worked like a complete virus.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:09:22]:

But viroids, which is probably one per in in in the size, one percent of complete virus and vire viruses were thought to be the smallest infectious part, entities. But viroids only in nucleic acid, 350 nucleotides, has the same phenomenology. That means it's infectious and it's pathological. And I said, oh, that is extremely interesting for a biophysical researcher like me. I have now a molecule in hand, which I can handle and I can study. It is simple enough, to study with with physical methods. If the if the biological system is too big, at that time, it was in the seventies, you could not really study with biological with physical methods. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:10:20]:

You can could study with X-ray, some some proteins. But this virus were complete biological system. That was so interesting. And then we said, but, first, we had a few micrograms from the thyroid, and that is very cumbersome to work with it. And we thought, okay. We have to purify. We have to develop methods to purify the virus for our research. And then I had a very good student who was a chemist who said, okay.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:10:55]:

I will do that in my PhD work. That was made in Golban. I developed a chromatographer. So we work we discussed a lot how this chromatography should be. And then, one or two years later, he he he could present really a chromatographic common column, which purified fibroids. And now we had probably suddenly milligrams of fibroids in our hands. And, I reported that on conferences, and the people said, oh, how nice. But who is interested in iOS? This is such an esoteric effect.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:11:38]:

We don't know whether it even exists. Yeah. But, for example, what people are interested, can you purify plasmids? That would be interesting. And we put plasmids on the column, and it came out pure. Pure. And that was the reason why we started to work on plasmids. And, then, really, I think that was about the time when we started about the company, what we could do with the company, purification of nucleic acid, and diagnosis of nucleic acid. For example, at that time, PCR was not developed, so one had all these, hybridization methods to to find mutations and those things we could do.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:12:24]:

Okay. But then we heard back yeah. If you have an infectious agent and plasmid is in particular cases also an infectious agent, but only in a particular sense. And you put one plasmid on a column and then the next plasmid, the columns have a memory effect. And, therefore, we said, okay. The column is not the right instrument. We have to use small kits, use it once, and throw it away. And then you have no cost contamination.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:12:57]:

And that was really the main invention of QIAGEN. At that point, Diogen first and then QIAGEN, that's not interesting right now. When QIAGEN could sell a kit for a plasmid, and the user takes a kit, purifies his plasmid Mhmm. And next day another one or next hour another one, and they'll never cause contamination because he uses everything in new column. And that was when QIAGEN started to sell worldwide the kids. Yeah? Mhmm. And, it was really I was still in involved in the company, and we discussed a lot. But at that time, I was already looking for the infectious protein, which is a new, phenomenon.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:13:51]:

Yeah. So now you have a little bit the idea how I came to the purification to the kids together with my cooperators. I I never was alone in the company. And, we were together, four of us. How we came and how it really we had several ideas, but the idea of the plasmid kit, use it once and throw it away.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:14:23]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:14:23]:

That is a good idea for microbiology. And suddenly and then I have to say, medical doctors could suddenly work in molecular biology because they could purify their plasmids. Before, you use you have to use plasmids to use, to do microbiology. Yeah. And before, to, purify the plasma took nearly two two days. And a medical doctor has no time. He has patients. And he does the science in the evening with students.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:14:56]:

And therefore, with plasmid purification, there was no time left for that. And suddenly, we gave him the tool at hand. So now you can work as plasmids. It it fits your time scale. Yeah. And then I think as the main, to describe the success of Keya again is Keya again brought the molecular biology to medicine. Before, it was only in specialized laboratories, but then it could be done worldwide.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:15:25]:

We'll definitely get into the story. But before that, I have one more question because you have been the share of biophysics at Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf from 1980 to 02/2007. That's twenty seven years. That's quite a long time and an achievement. But how could you just basically balance the the the responsibilities you had from all the positions, your research key again, and so on and so forth? Did you develop special methodologies?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:15:56]:

At first, it was an in outcome of our university research. So we did not research, on the sideline. It was our main research, virolids and to purify virolids. So

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:16:12]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:16:13]:

Nothing to do next to it or we did other things. And suddenly and when this worked, then we went out into the company. Yeah. And then I could say, okay. I I have my all my lectures, everything in my in my institute, but this part is now taken over by the company. We had a lot of discussions, but we had it well separated. Yeah. So the common economical part was well separated from the university part.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:16:45]:

And I kept this up to the last day of to the day of my retirement. Yeah. In my head, of course, it was always combined. But the money and what what was spent and the the coworkers and so on, they're working either there or there. And if there was a a combination, then it was declared and everything fine. Yeah. And you have to say, in Germany, when we started the company, we had no. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:17:20]:

And that was very good. I I told my chancellor, you see, I have to, I will set up a company next, is there any problem? He said, the company, you can do that on Saturday. And, professor, you have on Monday to Friday. So I don't see any problem. And as long as you don't want want to have money for me, anything is fine. Yeah. But today, the universities would like to have a lot of money when you said have a company that is an enormous hurdle for small startups, I have to say. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:17:55]:

I I'm working on that that this situation has to improve.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:18:01]:

Mhmm. Mhmm. That's, the the the law you're referring to is basically a law that regulates if one of your employees develops an invention during work, how do you process with it? What's the legal process, to sign, like, all the benefits? Before we get, and by the way, what you've been talking about, like having certain times for your research, for your institute, and certain times for your entrepreneurial work, I think that is a tech technique called today time boxing. You have certain times allocated to special duties, and you use them to the best of your abilities. Before we dive into the key again story, I'd love to hear from our audience if you could ask a biotech pioneer like professor Riesner one question. What would it be? Drop your thoughts down here in the comments. In 1984, you cofounded Key again with your with the doctoral students. What motivated you to do transitions from academia to entrepreneurship, and how did your academic background influence the company's direction? I mean, we already know it is a application of your research, but I do believe you applied a few more things from your academic background into the company.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:19:27]:

Right?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:19:29]:

Okay. I have to say that is a little bit in my personal mindset. Mhmm. I never I studied physics, atomic physics and biophysics. Yeah. And then later on with my, in my PhD work, I went more to biophysics or to pure biophysics. But I had always in mind, academic career is only one possibility for me. I can work with a company and and anything else.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:19:57]:

Yeah. I would always like to work scientifically, not not only to sell things. This is only a good profession to sell things, but I think I have to work in science, in research. But whether I I will do that, my life my life, in academia or in a company, I was not fixed. Mhmm. And that means that means I worked already on a on a patent before. Yeah. This patent was not very successful.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:20:27]:

That doesn't matter. But, therefore, I had always a look into that dire direction. Yeah. And then there were these three students coming with me from Darmstadt Institute of Technology. Mhmm. We we, went together to Dusseldorf, and we discussed a lot. What could we do? And these these younger people, they were, of course, not fixed to academia. I was, at that time, already little bit more fixed to academia, but we discussed what can we do else.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:20:57]:

And where is our research good for? Yeah. And so this, ideas were generated. And as ever, no particular time boxes also. Yeah? Mhmm. It you you cannot box your brain into different sections. Yeah? Right. But you have to control that the obligations to the university have to be fulfilled %. Yeah?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:21:27]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:21:28]:

And I never skipped the lecture for a discussion with the with the company. Also, not later, never. The company had to take care of my time boss, not the other way around. Yeah. Which always worked pretty well, I have to say. Yeah. And, okay. What what was next? Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:21:49]:

How I could separate that pretty well. Yeah. And I think this this came from the beginning, I say, for the company, I'm adviser, but I never went to the management. And that was the main point. My three students, they, established the management. I I was also on the advisory board in the advisory shop. Yeah. And, therefore, we have to has a clear separation.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:22:18]:

Mhmm. And I would tell all the younger people, use this separation as soon as you can do it. Yeah. Otherwise, it is, you have only trouble. Yeah. And, therefore, I never trouble trouble with the university, because everything was fulfilled. And the other point is they abandoned only the three students. As a university professor, if you like to do research, you never can do it alone.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:22:53]:

You can do it only with the best of the students. Yeah. And, therefore, I had to give very good lectures. I I feel maybe I'm a little bit superstitious, but I think I gave good lectures to attract good students. And then you can do good research at the whole university. If you say I do research and lectures are little bit take a lot too much time, wrong. Completely wrong. Yeah? The other way around.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:23:22]:

Good lectures bring you the best students, and with them, you can good good, to you can good, research. And this went through my whole twenty six years on the University of Dusseldorf. Yeah. It started in Darmstadt. It started in Darmstadt, I have to say.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:23:38]:

Mhmm. And then for everybody who who doesn't have an, academic biotech background, I'll link a lot of, Wikipedia articles, prions, plasmid, viromes, and so on and so forth. Of course, TU Darmstadt as well as the Heinrich Heine University, of course. So everybody can learn a little bit more there. We already talked about Key again. It there was there was, like, a different name in the beginning. That's why you were talking about and Key again. But the the the the the entity, you're that was a spin off, one of the first biotech spin offs from a German university.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:24:16]:

As you said, there was not the law that regulates, what happens if one of your employees invent something. But I'm sure you also encountered different hurdles. Plus, there was a very interesting, story you have in your book. By the way, you wrote a book about your experiences. Unfortunately, it's already sold out, but I do have a a one physical example here from you.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:24:42]:

Thank you very much for that. Let me say for people who are really interested in the book, I have a lot of, issues at home. If they write to me, I send them an issue.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:24:55]:

Okay. Of course.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:24:57]:

Not not not hundreds, but if you

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:25:01]:

and my question would be, what hurdles did you face there? Because I remember from the book, you came to Dusseldorf. They said, okay. What are you gonna bring to us? And then you said, okay, we do already have an idea for company. And I do remember that the Sparkasse, the thrift organization of Dusseldorf, was quite helpful there. Can you talk about a few other hurdles? And, of course, the story of Dusseldorf, Because when I remember this correctly, there was a great investment for for the local organization.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:25:31]:

Yeah. I as if we're not alone. Yeah. At first, we had another the owner of another company who was interested in the technology. Later on, we had a lot of problems with him. And the spark has there was a particular opinion in the spark has what can we do with the university together to improve the economy in Dusseldorf. Yeah? And there we had a discussion. And, the discussion wasn't that way.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:26:04]:

Now, yeah, it's okay. We have to talk, but, not much will come out. And then suddenly, I said to the to the president of the spark, I said, yeah. We have the plans for a company in the desk. And he said, what do you need? We said, 10 millions. And he said, right away, I I work on that to get the money. That will get the money. So that was in in a minute, this decision.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:26:34]:

And that's okay. If we have that support, then we can start. And then, missus Barca, when you have such an in inventor investor, he did not give 10 millions. Yeah. Over the time, he gave 6 millions over the time. But he got back 240 millions later, yeah, to to tell you the relationship. But then there was another, a venture capitalist, T4N, in Munich. They, got involved.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:27:09]:

And, I think then, the the governments and also under Syrian governments said, okay. We can support that. Let's see what's coming out. It's it's new that we support a startup from the university. And so and then, by by recommendation of Charles Weisman from Zurich, there was Moshe Alafi got interested in, California. He had, for example, started Applied Biosystems, a very Mhmm. Successful company. And we met with him, and we told him what we are doing and so on.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:27:48]:

And he took a sheet of paper and wrote down 1,000,000 investment. Yeah. So so this, really, decisions on the point. Yeah? I have to say. Yeah. Mhmm. And, he, and Moshe Lavi, I have to say, he looked to the young people in the company. Not to me, to the young people.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:28:12]:

What do they is there fire in the in these people? And he has the right judgment, and therefore, he gave the money. And so these hurdles were so then we had the money to start. And then the problem was a a laboratory, I have to say, in there is always an intermediate time. There's a laboratory. I'm still in the university. But as soon as possible, out of the university, have your own laboratories. Yeah? Then it's a clear cut. And this took some time.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:28:48]:

And, later on, there was a company Henkel in Dusseldorf who, had, in in level in a in a building with this empty laboratories, which we could rebuild for our work. Yeah. And so we started there. And later on, of course, it was too small, and we had to build our own and so on and so on. Yeah. But these were the hurdles a little bit. The money first, one has to have good connections to get the money. Yeah? And, then the the laboratory space.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:29:25]:

So what we what was no hurdle, what was our starting capital, so the idea and the people and the mood of the people. Yeah? That was our capital and the money and the laboratory space. We had to we had to acquire to say that.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:29:45]:

Mhmm. As we said, with key again, the the the the kickoff, as you already mentioned, was a single was a two part single use plastic system for nuclear acid extraction. That was a game changer, obviously. You already talked about the innovation process behind this product. And you said, normal doctors became part or could do biological research with that. I also remember that you have been hired, in terms of the woods in Germany, dyeing, to also do some research there where you where you applied your research?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:30:29]:

Yeah. Yeah. The that that was the, the the funny thing I have to say. Or even people thought, oh, in two years, there's no single tree in Germany. If if you worked if you listen to the press, yeah, then there was a meaning. In two years, there's no single tree in Germany. We'd never thought that it was, but we developed tests. And we used again our methodological and our knowledge on RNA technology.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:30:58]:

Yeah? Mhmm. So and then we developed those tests, and we published it. And, of course, it was interesting even for investors, but this was not really part of the, of the business. Yeah? It was besides the business. It was good for our technology training, I have to say. And for example, it was very good. At that time, one couldn't good one could good one could get good grants for. And that was good for my laboratory.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:31:33]:

I could buy new instruments, and these instruments can be worth of were, of course, used for all the experiments, not only for. Yeah. And therefore and, you know, in Germany stopped at a particular date. And on one day, stopped. Did you know that?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:31:55]:

No. No. But but I vividly remember when when I was a small kid, I remembered coverage everywhere in the press, in the news. The woods are dying in Germany due to,

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:32:09]:

And then there probably came the catastrophe of the atomic mile in Chernobyl. Mhmm. And on the day of Chernobyl, the press moved to Chernobyl, and was forgotten. Yeah. It was it was funny. Yeah. I say that was the end of the in Germany, the catastrophe of. But Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:32:36]:

I I so we have not to discuss further was an episode. It was a scientific interesting episode. And then I later met somebody from the minister who gave us money. And I asked him, what is the outcome of the. And he said, there's a lot of outcome because the Volkssturm, we they gave the money, and now we have forest science. Before, we had in universities only forest economy. And since the time of Volkssturm, we have a forest science in good universities. So I did not, look at that because we did not believe then forest science, but that was an outcome which one should not estimate too small that we have in Germany now a good forest science.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:33:26]:

Yeah. Okay. So so far to.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:33:32]:

Jumping forward a few years in 1996, you were the first company to be listed on Nasdaq. As as we've already discussed, you were cofounder. You were the adviser. Have you been at this time on the supervisory board of Keyagin?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:33:48]:

Yeah. I was. But I was not the chairman of the supervisory board. The chairman was at that time, a very well known banker, Carson Peter Klausen. And he, was with the beginning. He helped us a lot with financial difficulty situation, yeah, situations. And then we were happy. He really guided the tour to the Nasdaq, together with, now the, how was it, our underwriter, Goldman Sachs.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:34:28]:

Goldman Sachs was our underwriter. Anyway, I think the best underwriter you could get at that time. Yeah. And, later on, when professor reached his age of 72, he had to leave the board, and I followed him as a chairman of

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:34:48]:

the board. K. Yeah. I I would be interested. You've been there, the first company, before we get to that, how because I do understand there are two people that helps you to get listed on Nasdaq, But I was I was wondering what went through your mind when you met at the company. And at the first time somebody said, oh, guys, you're here in Germany, but let's go over to New York City and list you on Nasdaq. What were your first thought about that?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:35:20]:

No. Yeah. We had, good people, good consultants. Yeah. The, our our investors, they knew how to do these things. And the Nasdaq, they said the Nasdaq is America, and there's most money which they will buy shares, and the share price can then increase. In Germany, we had even we had only the normal Yeah. Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:35:49]:

But we were too small to go to the German, and the the the small came later in Germany. They were Mhmm. And, therefore, we had to, set over the company of QIAGEN in in holding

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:36:07]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:36:08]:

In Narmen loads of a note shop that was in in Dutch holding Mhmm. Of the company, and we went to get to the Nasdaq with the Nammen loads of a note shop. And they knew how to work with Nasdaq. In Germ the German companies, they could not go to Nasdaq at that time. Yeah. Mhmm. Whether there were, fiscal improvements, that was not my business in the company. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:36:37]:

But we knew with the name and laws of an old shop and with being public, we could, collect more money. That's Mhmm. Yeah. When we could grow in Hilton, near Dusseldorf. Yeah. Mhmm. Because we had no money more money, and then we started the whole diagnostic part part of the company. Before we were really the purification company, and then we had the purification technology and the nucleic acid diagnostic part.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:37:14]:

And that was only with the money of the IPO.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:37:18]:

Mhmm. I see. And the is basically the key again n dot v. Many people would have come by, a Dutch company called NV. Also, there, that is just legal form. So, basically, you moved your entity to The Netherlands, and there you could so you could list on Nasdaq.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:37:39]:

Yeah. But entity as a is is a holding. That means in in later time, we've had 50 people in The Netherlands, but a 500 in this is all. Yeah. Mhmm. Because that is the ratio about.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:37:55]:

Mhmm. I see. Have you any story, about being the first company to be listed on Nasdaq? How were you perceived in Germany and in The US? I could imagine in The US, it was no news. But how did people react here in Germany, about your listing?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:38:16]:

Oh, this is hard to remember how they react. You see, during the first years when we had the company, my colleagues were always friendly. I have to say that. Yeah. Sometimes they were friendly to me, but in the, backyard of their brain, they thought that it will not take long and, he will come down again. Yeah. I like it. But they they never said to me.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:38:42]:

So they were only friendly to my, to to me. And then, of course, there was really I have to say then, probably, there was admiration. When we said we could develop the company, now we are on IPO as the company is very close to to several hundred millions value. Yeah. Then there was a say then a lot of people said, okay. That is really in success. And some colleagues told me, you know, for molecular biology, I know much more than you, but you did it. And I was afraid to do it.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:39:26]:

Yeah. So there was this open admiration. Yeah. They they said, you did it. And therefore, you were successful. Yeah. And then after IPO, Naya, then the stock went up and then went down and went up and down. So the debt is normal.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:39:44]:

And then the take the biotechnology bubble, what I say, was bursting in the February. Yeah. But the company of course, the company went on and they earned money already. That is these are two independent things. The revenues of the company and the value as a stock market. Sometimes they are completely decoupled. Mhmm. Same as good.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:40:12]:

They are disc this capital ends. Key again went on and, of course, recovered from the low stock price. Mhmm. Yeah. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:40:21]:

I think there are a few more examples who really got, who really got trashed during the birth of the .com bubble, and many came back really strong. For example, Amazon and so on and so forth. Jumping a few years into the future, can you guide us through the decisions you had going, becoming a member of DAX? How did this work? And at the time, you were the head of the supervisory board. What were your thoughts about going to, going to become a member of the iconic DAX, Germany's most important stock index?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:40:59]:

I have to agree and have to admit that was after the time I was chairman of the board. Mhmm. I was still at the advisory board and scientific advisory board, but, and I stepped back from the from the chairmanship of the supervisor because because we had a younger, very well known member of the advisory board. I think he could take over. Yeah. Mhmm. But he he will take over only if he offer it to him right now. So that was the situation.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:41:34]:

And, therefore, I think, better, the CEO asked me after why why don't you stay a year longer or two years? No. I say, now is a good time that he can take over. Unfortunately, he left two years later because he got the offer from and all these companies, bigger boards. Yeah? But with sleepless nights, I would say. Yeah. And and he had no sleepless nights. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:42:05]:

Mhmm. I see.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:42:08]:

But I have to say when, yeah, from the time of the, IPO to today, I think the company I did not, check calculate it exactly. Must have grown by a factor of five or so. And then when we came close, then then we reached really a time where it was close to DAX. Mhmm. Yeah. DAX, of course, depends how many shares are treated. Yeah. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:42:44]:

Not, when you have an a family who owns 80% of the chairs, you can never go to the tax because there is no no business on the Mhmm. On the die on the stock market.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:42:59]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:43:00]:

But we had a very separated, very divided, ownership. Yeah. And there was a lot of treatment, a lot of dealing with the chairman Mhmm. With the stocks. And so this this came in close to it. And then the tax was extended from tax 30 to tax 40. Mhmm. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:43:22]:

And therefore, they had to accept new companies, and QIAGEN was, fortunately among the new companies which fit into the scale of DAX forty. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:43:37]:

I see. What what you're referring to mostly is the so called free float, meaning how many stocks are traded on a regular basis

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:43:45]:

It's the free float. Mhmm. To say the right word.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:43:47]:

Yeah. Exactly. Flow. Reflecting on your journey to become a global leader in molecular diagnostics, would core values and strategy were pivotal in sustaining its growth and innovation?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:44:04]:

Oh, could you repeat that? I did not Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:44:06]:

Sure. Reflecting on journey to become a global leader in molecular diagnostics Yeah. What core values and strategies were pivotal in sustaining its growth and innovation?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:44:20]:

Yeah. Yeah. I think there were there were two tendencies, I can say. First Mhmm. Of course, they said, okay. We, we did we concentrate our diagnostics on nucleic acid diagnostics. Yeah? Mhmm. Of that means virus detection, but also genetic diseases.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:44:47]:

Yeah. And then particular later, genetic mod modifications which are responsive to pharmaceuticals or nonresponsive. For example, such an oncological medical meant like, Avastin. It's good for some people, but bad for other people. And cryogen cut then deliver the tests, the genetic test to tell these people will suffer from it, and these people will have enormous advantages from it. And those tests and so they, they developed the test step step by step. Yeah? From the beginning clear test, for example, viral detection and then to mutations, which are close to pharmaceutical applications and, and but, of course, and also to veterinary tests and to, tests, from, from from the.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:46:03]:

I have to look it up myself.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:46:07]:

No. Yeah. It doesn't matter. You have to look it up. Yeah. And that means, it's extremely sensitive test. Test Mhmm. Made from an air.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:46:19]:

Yeah? Mhmm. And this could develop. And we had done on this, in my institute many years ago, never knowing that it was going to the court, that it had been used by the court later by court medicine. Yeah. And those things, very sensitive tests. Medicine was in using veteran medicine, but the main thing is, of course, a human diagnostic. Yeah. And but then on also, for example, latent diseases, diseases you don't see, but you have already in your body, with this is particular pneumonia.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:47:04]:

Yeah. Mhmm. They developed a test for that. So step by step, new tests. I don't know how many hundred tests they can offer. And and that was a critical decision that we had to, to develop an automat, an instrument, diagnostic instrument. I I can remember in the late nineties after, of course, the IPO, we discussed for months or or even two years, should we develop an instrument that we go again to a new direction? Mhmm. Or is that too risky? Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:47:42]:

Do we have to invest too much money? And invested a lot of money, and it took, I think, several years before they made before they had revenues from the instrument. Yeah. But then, finally, we thought it fits together. We are the kids, and we deliver the instruments. But the kids are also running also on other instruments, but we can do we can offer both. So and it was yeah. From then on, that was a new step in growing the company. Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:48:16]:

Going on second. I see.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:48:19]:

We'll be back after a short ad break. Uh-huh.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:48:49]:

I would say only my English is sometimes not so fluent. Yeah. But I hope I everything could one can understand everything.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:48:59]:

Yes. Of course. We can. Thank you for taking so much time with us. We may add to our audience that we're now already more than an hour in our recording session here. I would like to talk a little bit about your role as business angel Let

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:49:15]:

me let me put one the the the diagnostic. The Sure. Question is forensic diagnostic.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:49:22]:

Mhmm. Forensic diagnostics. Yes. Forensic

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:49:24]:

diagnostic. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:49:26]:

Great. I want to put a little emphasis on your role as a business angel investor now because we met at the business angel day. Transitioning into business angel, what key factors do you consider when you're evaluating potential biotech startups for investments?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:49:46]:

No. Yeah. I think I evaluate the same, qualities as I described for you when we started. Yeah. Mhmm. A good idea and the character of the of the scientists or of the start up people. Yeah? Mhmm. That is the main point.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:50:08]:

Not so much when they promise you how much money they will earn on the market. When they are on the market, everything has changed anyway. Yeah. And when they, think too early on the market, that means it's it's not really innovative. So it is yours. They think already on the market. So in real innovation is without a market. You have to develop the market.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:50:38]:

There is no market. Yeah. And that is only always when an investor is asked, Naya, then give me an estimation about your product on the market. I think then my then my product is not knowing not innovative If I can get you that innovate that estimation, yeah, because we have to develop the market. Typically, molecular biology and medicine, it did not exist before. Very little. Only in special institutes. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:51:10]:

Mhmm. And suddenly, there was a market because there was innovation. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:51:16]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:51:16]:

Whether it always goes that smoothly or that so well, yeah, one cannot say. But that is the idea behind, I have to say. Yeah. Mhmm. And that's also an idea when I work as a business angel, but, yeah, what is a business angel? Yeah. Business angel is somebody who knows a little bit about or knows something about the the start up scenery, and he can tell something. He can can give good advice to to younger people, help with some, some investments. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:52:01]:

Business angel, but has not the major does not give the major investment, a smaller investment. And that is important that, then the business angel has also commercial interests. I never would negotiate that. Yeah. Therefore, I said in in one dinner speech what a business angel did, it's a fall it's a fall an angel falling from the heaven because it was kicked out from the heaven because it has yeah. An angel an angel does not allow to have commercial interest. But the business angel has commercial interest, and, therefore, it was kicked out of the heaven. But it's good enough for the earth.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:52:47]:

It's still working on the earth. That is my definition of a business angel. So now you know.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:52:54]:

So I know. Can you share successful stories from your investments that show the potential of biotech innovation?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:53:05]:

But do you

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:53:07]:

Can you share some investments you did as a business angel to show, the the the the the potential of biotech innovation?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:53:20]:

Yeah. That is, very different. I think as a business angel or as a later investor, I got involved in very different companies. Yeah. For example, companies which were set up by colleagues of mine. Yeah. Then they I know best. I know the people.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:53:42]:

I know the science. That is the best situation. Yeah. There was also a company. I knew that there was a very good scientist, but he wasn't terrible, manager. So he went bankrupt, but because the science was so good, and another investor and myself, we bought the from the insolvency, the company, and said, now we have to arrange it very well. And the company worked again, and it was sold after four years to an American company, Catalan. I think it's a factor of five or six or whatever, but it stayed on the same place in Germany.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:54:26]:

And whenever I was involved in selling a company and an exit, I I, I thought it was very important that the company stayed inside in in our case in Northland, Australia. Yeah? Mhmm. And mostly, it was sold by it was bought by American or Indian companies, but they used it to to have a a step a foot down in Germany. And, therefore, the company was stayed in Germany because they use, the whole business inside Germany and the company stayed there. That was, I think, and they took all the employees and so on and so on. I was only once involved in a company in in, in Heidelberg, and they sold the asset, and the company was closed down. I had no influence on that, but that that can happen. It happens in many cases, but only in one case when I was involved.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:55:29]:

I have to say, yeah. It is not what I like to have.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:55:33]:

Mhmm. Yeah. You have seen biotech startups in Germany from the mid nineteen eighties to the mid twenty twenties. That is quite some time. What what did you learn over time about this this market?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:55:56]:

Yeah. What did I learn? What came out from my observations, I have to say. Yeah. But I think it is a little bit trivial that it is enormous diverse. Some companies which are really flourishing And, for example, Beyond Tech. Yeah. I I followed the story of the Beyond Tech. It's it's bigger than today.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:56:27]:

Whether it stays that way is another matter, but they really, because the the epidemic is over, but the people have such a competence that they they're they're having a very good company also in the future. But, otherwise, that was a typical company built on an epitome a epitome epitome. Yeah? But they knew from the beginning, there was an epitome, and we have to go with % and all our activity and together with an American company, Pfizer, in that time. That was was important. They know how to do it. They knew how to do it. Yeah. Whereas CureVac in Germany was earlier, but made some mistakes, but that is not my, my business to judge on that.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:57:22]:

Yeah. Mhmm. And so I've I've followed companies, for example, that Evotec was in more or less in in out spin from QIAGEN together with Manfred Eying from Gotting, and then developed also very well, but hadn't pushed down in last year, which was from a personal problem. Doesn't but it will recover. And then was an out spin of Evotec. I was in the board of of the area. It was sold to buyer on the other side of the street, I have to say. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:58:01]:

Taking over a 20 employees from the company. So it was very successful. But there was also companies where we had to realize that technology did not work as we had as we tried as we hoped that it would work. Mhmm. So that we have to what have we do to probably sometimes one has to close down the company. And as an, an stockholder or the stakeholder, we have to say we never, let the company go bankrupt. We said then we close the company, not in solvent, but, how do you call it?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [00:58:51]:

Liquidate?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:58:52]:

Liquidate. We had to liquidate the company, but sometimes we, as a stockholder, had to to to pay the debt to pay the debts, and then we could liquidate. But, the founders did not have an insolvency. Yeah. So I think that we've always found important. And therefore, then you then you build up a reputation. Yeah. And if you build up the reputation that you invest in a company, and if it doesn't work, then it is insolvent, bankrupt.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:59:26]:

That is not a good reputation. We said, if it doesn't work, we think that it has to finish in a good way for the, inventors for and for the start up people. Yeah. Mhmm. So this is a little bit, experience very different experiences, but we had good exits. We had smaller exits, but still exits. And, we had, really, liquidations. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [00:59:59]:

But we which went pretty smoothly, and that is important. Yeah. People could do then other things. So Mhmm. As a survey, I fortunately, the successful exits were in the well, mainly, we had successful exits. Yeah. Otherwise, it would not have been much fun. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:00:29]:

I see. And, of course, investment should also be some fun. We are now moving a little bit into entrepreneurship and biotech for all the entrepreneurs and researchers tuning in. What do you think is the biggest challenge when transforming from academia to business? Let us know in comments or tag somebody who might have an interesting take on this down here.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:00:53]:

Yeah. You see, in in Germany, the situation today is officially much more difficult. Is it what in our time because I caught talked already about the. Yes. Today, an invention you have in your institute, it belongs to the university. Yeah?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:01:11]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:01:11]:

It's a university, then you have to to deal with the university, what to do with it. And my, my advice is completely clear. It is simple and clear that the university, gives all the know how, all the patents to the people who have a start up, and the university get shares in the company. That means they do not get money now, but they get probably much more money when the company is successful. Yeah?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:01:44]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:01:45]:

And for example, with QIAGEN, we were not obliged to do it, but we said, okay. We were not obliged, but we took the know how from the university. We have to give back to the university. Yeah. And we gave back more than 20 millions. The university Dusseldorf. Yeah? And the the final gift was an, research laboratory, which was newly built. And, so, I think we had our own Arbeit name by Fintech Gesetz, but completely free, and it worked much better than the official Arbeit name Fintech Gesetz.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:02:30]:

And today, I'm really fighting for it that university or even even more critical as a governmental research institutes like for Helmholtz, Fraunhofer. They think they have to earn money when there's a start up to have to to to get money from the people who have the start up even they don't have money. Yeah. Instead of say, okay. We have chairs. And if the company gets successful, then we earn the money. I think this is it's quite a the Darmstadt Motel, but we headed into Zunoft already, I think, twelve years ago. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:03:11]:

Mhmm. Yeah. I I think you would you could call it, you could call it something like, IP for equity.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:03:20]:

I yeah. IP. Yeah. Right. You can call it right that way. IP for equity, but that is important. So equity is equity without voting rights. Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:03:32]:

Because if you have to vote in university, which probably can vote for a company's decision, that is terrible. Yeah. Equity without voting rights because university does not know how to vote there. Yeah. They might have specialists, but normally not. Yeah. Mhmm. And therefore and that is something we did know with with with pre avoid, but long discussions with the research center in with the Sudow, it was much easier.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:04:06]:

Yeah. Obviously, you know, normally, it's easier with the universities than the with the governmental research institutes. Also, they are really obliged to support startups. But what they are doing, they hinder it. And I hope they will learn in the near future.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:04:29]:

They basically have to learn. I had a few questions in this section of the interview, but basically you already went through all the answers that I would have asked from you. So let's go into another short ad break, and then we get onto your decision retiring from active roles.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:04:51]:

In in short break, as you said? And then where you go in which direction?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:04:57]:

Retiring from active roles.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:05:00]:

From active roles? Yeah. That is easy if you don't have active roles.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:05:06]:

Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:05:08]:

But I can I can say some of the Yep? Of the meaning of the reasoning for that.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:05:13]:

Yeah. As the hedge of the supervisory board of QIAGEN, how did you ensure a smooth transition of leadership when stepping back from your role?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:05:32]:

Yeah. I think when I that is important because, QIAGEN is a technology company, and I think I've said always pretty well as a chairman of support because I use the technology. But I did not know all the finances. And when I had question on the finances, which is he probably I thought to see, oh, is an is on another me has another opinion than I feel. Then I asked my colleague in the board about that problem, who knew about the finances. Exactly when I had question about selling, What type of selling have you to support me? There was a guy who was a specialist in selling. So as in chairman of the supervisory board, you have a a lot of obligation and responsibility, and you cannot answer it always by yourself, you have again to work as a team. That is the point.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:06:38]:

Yeah. And if you think you have to answer everything yourself, you make too many mistakes. Of course, I had very close connection to the CEO of the company Mhmm. At every week or so. Yeah. And before the board meetings, we met very intensively and discussed all the questions, but that does not mean that I did not depend upon the specialists of the in the board on special questions.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:07:06]:

Mhmm. I I think bottom line is always ask the specialist if you know them.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:07:12]:

If you

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:07:14]:

If you know specialist, always ask them.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:07:17]:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you have to have a board with specialists. Yeah. That you even you can ask other people, but, is is a specialist have to be in the bot because they know the company otherwise.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:07:32]:

Mhmm. They can't answer in favor of the company.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:07:36]:

I was wondering when you there was a time when you retired from the KeyAren board, and you retired from your position at the university. How how did your focus shift since, and what interest did you develop? How did your life change in that time? Do do you have any recommendations?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:07:58]:

Yeah. My recommendation is stay active. Yeah. I said always, of course, I earned a lot of money. Everybody knows that. And I could have, I could have stayed in probably in Mallorca and put my belly in the sun. Yeah? But I said always, I felt so sorry for the sun to look at that. Yeah? Therefore, I could not do it.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:08:28]:

That is the reason. So but more seriously Mhmm. I could put more time and effort in the other companies where I was involved. And, for example, in even in the companies now the successor of of my chair Mhmm. Dita Wirbould, and they they took over the mentality. When you have a good idea, set up a company. And he did did very good science in Alzheimer, and Alzheimer is now a scientific development from the prions. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:09:11]:

The further development for the prions. So we had a lot of scientific contact. And when he started the company, I helped him as much as I can. I gave him the first money, and, I solved the problem with with the wrong CEO. They had the company, and we bought, is, is a patents from the research institute that the patents have to belong to the company. Otherwise, you don't get money. Yeah. Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:09:41]:

So I got very much involved in that, and then I got involved similar to that in a diagnostic company for Alzheimer and other neurodegenerative diseases. And, yeah, and there were others, other sides. So I really was a little bit I was asking, of course, a lot to would like to be with our company. I said, only that I have to learn, only the company where I understand the science hundred percent. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:10:16]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:10:16]:

I was asked, oh, you see, we have a very good company for cancer. I think I believe it too that you have a good company for cancer, but I don't understand sufficient from cancer. Mhmm. Therefore, I will not go into your company. And, so on, that is my involvement. Actually, I'm now in in tubing involved in a cancer company, but they could explain that very well to me, and they had funds from the other side. And as a funding agency, do you know the Sprint agency?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:10:53]:

Yep. Sprint? It's a it's a governmental agency.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:10:57]:

Yeah. And Sprint is, gives a lot of money to the Priavoid. That is a company of my successor, Will Dieter Wilbord. And now he's in phase two with Alzheimer, with a very good compound for Alzheimer. And then they said, okay. We will also, give money to the tubing company, but they need a little bit experience, the strategic experience in a start up. Would you not like to be involved a little bit in that? And I met to the people, and I said, these people are okay. That is interesting to work with them.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:11:38]:

Yeah. Also, it's not really my fear to have a if the people are good enough, I can trust them. Yeah. And that is, so I made the change from chair of QIAGEN, chair of bi biophysics, but I still have my office in the university. And I was even in the board of trustees of the university. This were running odd also. So I'm going back from official obligations to more informal interest and obligations in smaller companies and try if the company has an exit, fine. And I have not replaced every exit as a new company.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:12:25]:

Yeah. So I will use it.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:12:27]:

Mhmm. Let us go into the last section, the last three questions, your current perspective and future outlook. How do you see the role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in biotech research and development?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:12:48]:

Yeah. We did set before we knew about the name. Yeah. We or better as a colleagues with whom I worked. Of course. In the seventies, there were the best programs with the best data to calculate structure of of, of proteins. In the same way, we use the best, the best programs and a lot of data to calculate the structure of RNA folding and refolding during, the biological activity. Yeah.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:13:30]:

That was, of course, k I, k I at that time. But in the meantime, the machines got hundred times faster. The data extended by a factor of hundred, and then we call it k I k I. K k I.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:13:48]:

AI. Artificial intelligence. Yes.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:13:50]:

Yes. So the artificial intelligence was already there, but now it has much more impact because the machines are better, the data are much extended. And so new relationships can be found by artificial intelligence, yeah, which could not be found before because they would have years taking years. Therefore, in my mind, artificial intelligence is not something we are new. It is in systematic development from earlier intentions. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:14:28]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:14:29]:

And, of course, we use it in in everything where structure or metabolic pathways and those things, complicated things, have to be described.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:14:43]:

Mhmm. I see. Yeah. Especially they are especially good if it goes really, really complex. Yeah. What are your thoughts on interdisciplin interdisciplinary collaboration in driving innovations?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:15:02]:

No. Yeah. I always have to go back to. Yeah. I am the I was a physicist. My coworkers were one was a chemist, the other one was a microbiologist, and the third one was a biochemist. So and the four of us, every with a different field collaborated and set up cryogen, and we had to complement each other by our knowledge. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:15:29]:

Mhmm. As

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:15:29]:

a physicist, I have to go, of course, very often to the biochemist and have to ask him what what happens here, what happens there, or to the microbiologist and chemist. Yeah. So interdisciplinary collaboration is very important. So I it's I don't know what we would have done without it. It's our it was our experience. Yeah. Okay. That's all I can say.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:15:56]:

Yes. And the last question, I think you already talked a lot about what you continue to influence the biotech sector. What are your current projects or initiatives, and what legacy do you hope to leap for future generations of scientists and entrepreneurs?

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:16:16]:

Yeah. Yeah. That is, of course, a question. For example, the legacy the European legacy for plant molecular biology was terrible. Yeah?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:16:33]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:16:33]:

Genetically engineered plants were more or less forbidden in Europe. Unfortunately, this is now liberated. Yeah? But that is one point, that the legacy has to be quite liberal. Yeah? It has to be watched whether the dangers can appear. But, for example, why went, that is my I did not speak to the people, but this is my suspicion. Why went beyond tech with research to Britain? Yeah. Because the legacy is more liberal. The admissions, it is a legal authority works faster.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:17:15]:

And I think the fiscal improvement, the fiscal support is better. Yeah. And these are three points which Germany, it one, we have to work on in Germany that it gets better and that the company has not to go this particular path of the company to Britain. Also, QIAGEN has a a research laboratory in Britain. Yeah.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:17:40]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:17:41]:

Completely clear. I think there are still, still a lot of do and how because we discussed it, earlier. I know how for chairs or IP for chairs. Yeah?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:17:57]:

Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:17:58]:

The system has really to be fixed for universities and the governmental institutes. Yeah. And I think Sprint is working on that and the is there is a Darmstadt model who who proposed that this is the right direction, but it is not clear in all heads of these institutes. Yeah. And the heads might be, but in the lower parts of the administration. That is hard just to see. And for example, there's one problem what we call in Germany, the night factor. You know what the night factor is?

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:18:45]:

Yeah. A jealousy factor. Mhmm.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:18:47]:

Yeah. There are really, people who, are suspicious. Oh, they will earn a lot of money and take this money from our university. That is not the case. They have to work like hell for it. Yeah. And they will really improve the university when they are successful. It's a reputation of the university and give better chances to more younger people.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:19:12]:

Yeah. And, therefore, this has to be in the mind of the administration of these people to help and not to ask money from people who don't have the money. And this happened in the past.

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:19:27]:

That are actually very good closing words. We've covered a lot of ground today, but I know there's always more to explore. What's your biggest takeaway from your from to take this conversation? Share your insights with us. Let us know. Keep the discussion going down here in the show notes. Professor Riesner, thank you very much for taking so much time answering all my question. It was a pleasure having you as a guest.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:19:53]:

Thank you very much. I enjoyed also this discussion, I have to say. Yeah. I enjoyed it. Thank

Jörn 'Joe' Menninger | Founder and Editor in Chief | Startuprad.io [01:19:59]:

you very much.

Detlev Riesner | Co-Founder & Former Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Qiagen [01:20:01]:

Bye bye.

STARTUPRAD.IO

From Lab to Nasdaq: The Qiagen Founder: Stories and Lessons in Biotech Entrepreneurship

Management Summary

Meet Our Enabler Vanta

What does the Qiagen founder think are the key challenges in building a biotech company?

The Academic Roots: From Virology Research to Entrepreneurial Vision

Early Research on Nucleic Acids by the Quiagen Founder

The Spark of Entrepreneurship

Navigating the Hurdles: Funding and Growth in the Early Days

Securing Early Funding

Overcoming Regulatory Challenges

Qiagen's Journey: From Germany to Nasdaq and Beyond

The Nasdaq Listing: A Pivotal Moment

DAX Inclusion: Reaching the Pinnacle

Lessons in Biotech Entrepreneurship: Insights for Founders

The German Biotech Ecosystem: Opportunities and Challenges

The German biotech ecosystem has evolved significantly since Qiagen's early days. While challenges remain, the ecosystem offers numerous opportunities for startups and entrepreneurs.

Funding Landscape: Evolution and Opportunities

University Spin-Offs: A Source of Innovation

People Also Ask Questions

What does it take to build a successful biotech company?

What were the biggest challenges Qiagen faced in its early days?

How has the German biotech ecosystem evolved since Qiagen's founding?

What advice does Professor Riesner have for aspiring biotech entrepreneurs?

What role do university spin-offs play in biotech innovation?

The Future of Biotech: Innovation and Opportunities

Conclusion: A Legacy of Innovation and Inspiration

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