Cepheid Updates Status Of Premier Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) Agreement

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) today announced that its group purchasing contract with Premier will end on September 30, 2014.  Customers currently purchasing through the Premier GPO will be able to continue their relationship with Cepheid through other GPOs including Amerinet, Baycare, HPA, MedAssets, Novation, and ROi, in addition to the recently announced agreement with HealthTrust, or directly with Cepheid.

"Cepheid has always recognized and supported the value of Group Purchasing Organizations and the role they play in driving the adoption of innovative technologies to improve patient care while also delivering attractive pricing for their members," said Jim Post, Cepheid's Executive Vice President of North America Commercial Operations.  "However, in this case, we were not able to agree on the appropriate level of fees paid by Cepheid relative to the value delivered by this particular contract.  Since we expect no customer or revenue impact, we have made the decision not to renew our agreement with Premier."

"Steps are being taken to ensure continuity of service for our customers as we make this transition," continued Post.  "Cepheid shares our customers' commitment to using high-value diagnostic tools to support the highest standards of patient care.  Regardless of the purchasing route, there is no change to that shared commitment."

About Cepheid

Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD) is a leading molecular diagnostics company that is dedicated to improving healthcare by developing, manufacturing, and marketing accurate yet easy to use molecular systems and tests. By automating highly complex and time-consuming manual procedures, the company's solutions deliver a better way for institutions of any size to access the full power of molecular diagnostics. The company's systems enable rapid, sophisticated testing solutions for infectious diseases, oncology, and genetic conditions by automating otherwise complex manual laboratory procedures. Through its strong molecular biology capabilities, the company is focusing on those applications where accurate, rapid, and actionable test results are needed most, such as managing infectious diseases and cancer. For more information, visit www.cepheid.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are not purely historical regarding Cepheid's or its management's intentions, beliefs, expectations and strategies for the future, including those relating to the impact of non-renewal of the Premier group purchasing organization ("GPO") contract, customers' contractual arrangements with other GPOs, impact on future customer purchasing, continuity of service and future financial results .  Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from the Company's current expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as those relating to: purchasing patterns by customers, including customers choosing to purchase through GPOs, directly from Cepheid or otherwise; the pricing of Cepheid's products; test performance in the field; utilization of our tests by clinicians; our ability to successfully develop new products; the completion of clinical trials for new products successfully and in a timely manner; uncertainties related to the United States FDA, European and other regulatory processes applicable to our products; the Company's ability to successfully introduce and sell products in clinical markets and high burden developing countries; the Company's research and development budget; unforeseen supply, development and manufacturing problems; the potential need for additional intellectual property licenses for tests and other products and the terms of such licenses; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the Company's ability to manage geographically-dispersed operations; and underlying regulatory, political and market conditions worldwide. Readers should also refer to the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Cepheid's Annual Report on Form 10-K, its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and its other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

All forward-looking statements and reasons why results might differ included in this release are made as of the date of this press release, based on information currently available to Cepheid, and Cepheid assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement or reasons why results might differ.

SOURCE Cepheid