Partners In Health Welcomes Reduced Price of High- Quality Test to Diagnose Tuberculosis, Urges Transparency and Solidarity

Boston, Massachusetts – Partners In Health (PIH) welcomes the news that Danaher Corporation will 
lower the price of its high-quality tuberculosis test cartridge, the Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra, by 20 percent 
and urges the Washington, DC-based conglomerate to do more.

Tuberculosis ranks as the world’s deadliest infectious disease. In 2021, 1.6 million people—equivalent
to the population of Trinidad and Tobago—died of it and 10.6 million people—equivalent to the 
population of Greece—fell ill. Over 80 percent of deaths occurred in low- and middle-income 
countries.

“In rural, extremely poor settings, people with tuberculosis fight valiantly every day to survive,” says 
Lindsay Palazuelos, PIH Senior Director of Policy & Government Accompaniment. “This price 
reduction will help us give more patients the care they deserve.”

PIH has relied on Xpert tests since 2012 and currently uses them daily in Haiti, Peru, Malawi, 
Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Kazakhstan. In most of these places, there is a chronic 
shortage of cartridges because of their high cost.

Carole Mitnick, PIH TB Specialist and Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard 
Medical School, was heartened to hear of the move to expand access to high-quality care, but pointed 
out questions unanswered in press releases. These include: 

• Danaher says it will sell the cartridges “at cost.” How can this be publicly verified and will 
  they partner to work toward lower costs?
• When will other Danaher test cartridges, including the XDR cartridge, be available at more 
  affordable prices?

“It’s truly exciting to imagine more patients getting prompt diagnosis,” says Mitnick. “We’ve got 
much more to do and important questions that need urgent answers, but I’m deeply thankful for 
everyone—activists, clinicians, scientists, everyone—who acts in solidarity with those suffering from 
a disease too often ignored.” 

About Partners In Health 
Founded in Haiti in 1987, Partners In Health is a nonprofit social justice organization working to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need. Some 30 years later, it has a documented history of implementing effective health delivery models in partnership with governments and academic institutions around the world, providing high-quality care to millions of patients. Learn more at www.pih.org.