On Monday 13 December 2021, the Competition Commission (“the Commission”) and the third largest private laboratory, Dietrich, Voigt, MIA & Partners and Dr. Vermaak Incorporated (‘’Pathcare”) concluded a settlement agreement in terms of which Pathcare agreed to reduce its Covid-19 PCR test prices from about R850 to no more than R500 (VAT inclusive) per test with immediate effect. This settlement agreement is subject to the approval of the Competition Tribunal. The Pathcare settlement agreement comes at the back of an official announcement by the Competition Commission that two other major laboratories, Ampath and Lancet Laboratories, have agreed to substantially reduce the price of COVID-19 PCR tests with immediate effect.
