diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index cab456240c..66650af6be 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -3,3 +3,5 @@ include monai/_version.py
 
 include README.md
 include LICENSE
+
+prune tests
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index df05908bc2..530b869ea2 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ def get_cmds():
 setup(
     version=versioneer.get_version(),
     cmdclass=get_cmds(),
-    packages=find_packages(exclude=("docs", "examples", "tests")),
+    packages=find_packages(exclude=("docs", "examples", "tests", "tests.*")),
     zip_safe=False,
     package_data={"monai": ["py.typed", *jit_extension_source]},  # type: ignore[arg-type]
     ext_modules=get_extensions(),