As Danaher reports quarterly earnings and increased market share for Cepheid’s GeneXpert medical tests, MSF calls on corporation to drop all test prices to $5 for low- and middle-income countries

23 April 2024 – Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) today called again on medical test maker Danaher to reduce the price of Cepheid’s GeneXpert tests – used for diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, Ebola, and other diseases – to $5 each for low- and middle-income countries. MSF-commissioned research on the cost of production of GeneXpert tests established that Cepheid and Danaher would still earn reasonable profits even at a $5 price point. Danaher has been charging 200-400% more than what it costs to produce a cartridge, profiteering off low- and middle-income countries.

While Danaher took an important step by reducing the price of the primary TB test by 20% in September from $10 to $8, they urgently need to implement price reductions for the test cartridges for all other diseases. MSF launched a global petition last month, urging Danaher and Cepheid to reduce the price of GeneXpert test cartridges for all diseases to $5.

Mihir Mankad, Senior Global Health Advocacy and Policy Advisor, MSF USA:

“Today Danaher reported $5.8 billion in revenues in the first quarter of 2024 with continued gains in market share in its molecular diagnostics business at Cepheid. It’s been too long that Danaher has been profiteering off people in low- and middle-income countries and their governments through Cepheid’s GeneXpert test cartridges. Getting diagnosed with a disease is the first step in ensuring you get the lifesaving treatment you need. Medical testing shouldn’t be a luxury reserved only for those who can afford it. We’re calling on Danaher to reduce the price of all GeneXpert tests sold in low- and middle-income countries to no more than $5 each.”

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Shailly Gupta ​
​Médecins Sans Frontières | Doctors Without Borders - Access Campaign
​M: +41 79 203 13 02