Xpert MTB/RIF is a new TB diagnostic system that incorporates a nucleic acid amplification technology for rapid detection of TB and of rifampicin resistance. Treatment Action Group (TAG) and the Global TB Community Advisory Board (TB CAB) sent an open letter to a company in 2012 calling on them to reduce the price of the machines and the Xpert MTB/RIF cartridges. In early July 2012, an agreement to reduce the price of Xpert MTB/RIF cartridges was made between the manufacturer and UNITAID, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and a Foundation.
However, the 40% reduction in cartridge prices to US$10 applies only to a set number of preapproved public-sector purchasers in resource-poor countries with high burdens of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and TB/HIV coinfection. In addition, the price of the…
