TB advocates encourage Danaher, a holdings company that recently acquired Cepheid, to prioritize the continued development of critical Cepheid products for TB.
In an open letter sent to Danaher on 17 January 2017, the Global TB Community Advisory Board (TB CAB) congratulated the company for its acquisition of Cepheid and encouraged Danaher leadership to prioritize the continued development of critical Cepheid products for TB, including GeneXpert MTB/RIF, Omni, Ultra, and the new cartridges that may be capable of detecting extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB). “Cepheid’s investments in the TB field have been game changing, and have the potential to further improve the diagnosis and linkage to timely treatment of TB and drug-resistant TB.”
TB CAB requested a response before 1 February 2017.
To read the full letter, click here.
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On 28 February 2017, Danaher responded by e-mail elaborating on the Cepheid's and Danaher's current operational structure with regard to the development of new products in the field of TB diagnostics.
On 21 March 2017, Cepheid responded by e-mail sharing updates related to the company's GeneXpert technology and stating the company's continued commitment to investing in its TB program.