Yesterday, 22 August, 2016, the European Commission announced the admission of Truvada as PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV) in all 28 EU member states. Experts believe that it will be available on the pharmaceutical market within the next 6 months. Already now PrEP plays an important role, along with other measures, in HIV prevention.
At the International AIDS Conference 2016 in Durban, where AIDS Action Europe also participated, first successes in the use of PrEP were reported. In particular, after its introduction incidence rate decreased among MSM in San Francisco (USA) and in New South Wales (Australia). South Africa is also starting its PrEP programme for sex workers.
PrEP has a relatively high price, and therefore, without health insurance reimbursement, affordable to very few people. We hope that in the future more options for PrEP will be available and generic products will also enter the market that would dramatically reduce the costs of this highly effective HIV-prevention method and that insurance companies will take over the costs of PrEP programmes for all that are in need.
