PrEP to be available in England from April

From April, the Department of Health and Social Care will ensure that everyone at high risk of contracting HIV will receive PrEP from their local sexual health clinic.

As it stands, the drug is only available in England through the three-year PrEP impact trial, which has recruited over 20,000 participants after doubling in size due to demand.

As part of the new plan, local authorities will receive £16 million in 2020 to 2021 to deliver the preventative HIV treatment, which reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99% when taken daily.

The government body says that the new funding will also enable people on the trial to continue to use PrEP when the trial ends.

Figures show that HIV transmissions in gay and bisexual men have fallen by 71.4% since 2014, and in January 2019 the government committed to reaching zero HIV transmissions by 2030.

Data showed that the number has fallen from an estimated 2,800 transmissions in 2012 to 800 in 2018, and the number of gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men living undiagnosed with HIV has halved since 2014 from an estimated 7,000 to 3,600 in 2018.

Published by Public Health England (PHE), the figures show that the country is successfully headed towards its goal of eliminating HIV transmission by 2030, a goal that depends upon sustaining prevention efforts and further expanding them to reach all at risk.

"I remember when HIV was a death sentence," commented health and social care secretary Matt Hancock, "and still today, it has a devastating impact on so many lives across the country."

He continued, "While it is encouraging to see HIV transmissions continue to fall across the UK, I am determined to do more, and end HIV transmission.

"So we are rolling out PrEP and making it available across the country – with evidence showing it almost completely eradicates the chances of getting HIV. This will benefit tens of thousands of people’s lives, and drive us towards our ambition of zero HIV transmissions in this decade."

Public Health England reminds the public that getting tested for HIV has never been easier, with free tests available through sexual health clinics, GP surgeries, as well as through a self-sampling service or by using a self-testing kit.

Register as Visitor to CPhI China 2020!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Editor's Note:

En-CPhI.CN is a vertical B2B online trade platform serving the pharmaceutical industry,

for any copyright disputes involved in the articles,

please email: Julia.Zhang@imsinoexpo.com to motify or remove the content.