FRANKFURT, March 3 (Reuters) - Instruments maker Thermo Fisher has launched a 10.4 billion euro ($11.59 billion) bid for genetic testing company Qiagen NV , Qiagen said on Tuesday.

The offer price represents a 23% premium to Qiagen's closing price on March 2, the company said. ($1 = 0.8977 euros) (Reporting by Christoph Steitz Editing by Michelle Martin)