GERMANY'S Qiagen expects sales of its swine flu tests to rise further if there is a flu wave in the coming months after demand jumped sharply in the second quarter, its chief executive told a German newspaper.

GERMANY'S Qiagen expects sales of its swine flu tests to rise further if there is a flu wave in the coming months after demand jumped sharply in the second quarter, its chief executive told a German newspaper.

"As we are already one of the preferred suppliers worldwide, sales of our flu tests could rise into the millions in the second half of the year in the event of a pandemic," Peer Schatz told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung yesterday.

The H1N1 virus was first reported in March in Mexico and California. Experts say at least one million people have been infected in the US alone.

Earlier this month, Qiagen lifted the lower limit of its earnings goal in part due to the surge in demand for swine flu tests.

Schatz said the company would not pay dividends, but would reinvest the profits. - Reuters