In a drive to expand adoption of the Xpert® MTB/RIF test, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNITAID recently announced their agreement to significantly reduce the cost of this rapid TB diagnostic tool in 145 high-burden countries. This agreement will fund the buy-down of the Xpert MTB/RIF cartridges from $16.86 to $9.98, effective as of 6 August 2012.
