Media Coverage of PrEP

March 2018

• HIV Prevention Drug PrEP Will be Listed on Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme - Australia's federal government has announced it will list an effective HIV prevention drug on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, starting next month. Health Minister Greg Hunt today confirmed that pre-exposure prophylaxis, known as PrEP, would be government subsidized from April 1.
• A Daily Pill Can Prevent HIV Infections. Why Don’t More People Use It? - There’s no question that a simple regimen of a single daily pill can slash HIV infections in people at risk. But although millions of people around the world could benefit, only 200,000 are prescribed PrEP, and 75 percent of them are in the United States. The disparity was the focus of anguished discussions this week at the largest annual US HIV/AIDS conference.
• Mapping PrEP: First ever data on PrEP users across the US - The Center for AIDS Research at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health produces interactive online maps with visualized data on different aspects of the US HIV epidemic, and its prevention and treatment response, at AIDSVu.org. This set of maps and statistics focuses on PrEP use nationally and by state from 2012-2016.

February 2018

• HIV Prevention: It’s time to stop accepting the status quo, PrEP Summit concludes - The biggest barrier to PrEP in Europe may be ignorance not cost, according to presenters at the first European PrEP Summit held in Amsterdam in February.
• Health Ministry Approves HIV Prevention Drug, but High Price Remains an Obstacle - Korea Bizwire reports South Korea’s move to make PrEP available. Its Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved the sale of Truvada for prevention. The article reports continuing questions about the cost of PrEP.
• Put the Power in Your Hands - This TEDx Talk by Dr. Nneka Nwokolo, an HIV consultant working in the United Kingdom, tells a story of PrEP’s potential with references to a large documented decline in new infections at key clinics.
• PrEP Ambassador Claims the Drug Reduces HIV Infections - Botswana's MMegionline has this story quoting Beauty Tlhalerwa, Botswana's PrEP ambassador, on the protection PrEP offers, and the progress toward PEPFAR targets to provide PrEP to up to 1,000 people. Reporter Nnasaretha Kgamanyane credits statistics drawn from www.prepwatch.org/botswana.
• What is PrEP - Planned Parenthood Video - Planned Parenthood has published this video explaining how to take PrEP correctly and consistently, and how it differs from PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis). Planned Parenthood released the video in conjunction with National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, on February 7.
• New Zealand to Introduce PrEP for Less than Two Dollars a Month - K-based, LGBT-focused PinkNews.co.uk reports New Zealand's decision to publically fund prescriptions of PrEP for those considered to be at high risk of exposure. According to the story, New Zealand recorded its highest number of new HIV diagnoses in 2016 since the AIDS crisis began in the 1980s. With public funding the cost of prescriptions is expected to be less than USD $2.

January 2018

• Paperwork Begins for Possibly Introducing HIV Prevention Pill (Guyana) - A regional publication from Guyana, Demerara Waves, reports on considerations to bring PrEP to Guyana. The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is gathering required documentation for the ministry of public health and a demonstration project to administer PrEP to gay men and men who have sex with men is possible as early as 2019.

December 2017

• British Columbia to Fund HIV-Prevention Drug - This article by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports on a decision by the government of British Columbia to cover the cost of oral PrEP for eligible populations. The policy goes into effect January 1, 2018 and sources credit the expanded coverage to an agreement that allows the provincial government to secure generic Truvada.
• Brazil Fights HIV Spike in Youths With Free Preventive Drug - Seeking to stem a sharp rise in HIV cases among young people, Brazil began offering oral PrEP to those deemed at high risk.
• When He Won’t Say Yes to a Condom, Maybe You Should Say Yes to This Pill - Bhekisisa introduces oral PrEP to their readers and describes why it might help young woman at risk for HIV.
• Gilead Sciences Commits $100 Million to Fight HIV/AIDS in Southern States - Gilead Sciences will put $100 million toward creating a program to address HIV/AIDS in the southern United States. Southern states account for 45 percent of all people living with an HIV diagnosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• One Year In: Lessons on rolling out an HIV prevention pill in South Africa - The PrEP rollout data shows that there is a relatively slow, but increasing, uptake of PrEP. One year after the licence was procured there are fears that the rollout isn’t sufficiently targeting one of the country’s most high risk populations: young women.

September 2017

• Experts Concur that Event-related Oral PrEP Probably Won’t Work for Women - Presenting at the International AIDS Society Conference, Bob Grant said that although that there was abundant evidence that PrEP did protect cisgender women from infection, it looked like six to seven doses a week, i.e. daily PrEP and good adherence, would be needed to fully protect them.
• Health Dept to Place New HIV Prevention at Uni - iafrica.com reports on a decision by South Africa’s Department of Health to roll out PrEP to its university system. An initiative of the Higher Education and Training HIV/AIDS Programme (HEAIDS) is making PrEP available to students for the first time. PrEP will be available in 11 clinics at seven universities. Up to now, government programs have been aimed at reaching sex workers and men who have sex with men.

August 2017

• Government Rolls out Drug to Reduce HIV Risk - The New Vision reports that the Ugandan government is rolling out oral PrEP to public health facilities across the country. PrEP will be first available at seven public health facilities, to be rolled out across the country when resources allow.
• PrEP Trials: The Benefits — and Challenges — of Seeking Community Input - In a piece for TheBody.com, journalist and activist Jennifer Johnson Avril writes about community involvement (or lack thereof) in recent PrEP trials as well as the opportunities afforded by (and at times, limitations) of the Good Participatory Practice (GPP) Guidelines for stakeholder engagement in research.

July 2017

• Namibia Approves the Use of PrEP in HIV Prevention - The Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services 2016 National Guidelines has expanded the provision of PrEP to individuals at extensive risk of HIV acquisition, as per WHO prevention guidelines released in 2015.
• New Evidence That Nondaily Intercourse-Based PrEP Works Well - A nondaily intercourse-based dosing protocol for Truvada (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine) as PrEP appears highly effective at preventing HIV among men who have sex with men.
• Why Aren’t More Trans Women on PrEP? - A look at one trans woman’s experience with PrEP in the US tells an important story about the work still to be done to bring PrEP to the trans community.

June 2017

• The FDA Has Approved Generic PrEP—but Access May Remain Difficult - Experts cited complicated factors, like patient and doctor awareness and the unique way the US HIV medication market functions, as barriers to access.
• Vietnam: Oral HIV pre-exposure service launched - The Vietnam Administration for AIDS Control launched an oral PrEP prescription service this past March. This pilot program will run until September 2018, when it will be re-evaluated by the Ministry of Health.
• Belgium, Portugal and Brazil Will Provide PrEP Through Their Health Services; Morocco Announces a PrEP Study - In the last two weeks, several countries have announced that they will soon launch pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) programs.

May 2017

• Brazil to Make PrEP Available to Populations at Highest Risk of HIV Infection - Brazil will make PrEP available to populations at highest risk of HIV infection including sex workers, trans people and gay and bisexual men.
• Gilead Slowly Rolls Out Ads for Truvada for PrEP — 4 Years After Approval - Gradually ramping up promotion of its HIV-prevention pill, Gilead Sciences has turned to humor, dating apps and social media sites like Tumblr and Snapchat to raise awareness about HIV prevention.

April 2017

• Providers Who Prescribe PrEP Don't See Most Patients Increasing Risky Sexual Behavior - A new study examining medical provider attitudes toward prescribing PrEP to prevent HIV found that those who already prescribe it do not see widespread increases in risky sexual behavior among their patients as a result.
• PrEP is Approved in Scotland - The Scottish Medicines Consortium announced that it had accepted tenofovir disoproxil/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC – Truvada) for use within the Scottish National Health Service as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV infection.
• PrEP Should be Given to All Breastfed Babies, Researchers Say - An international group of researchers involved in the ANRS 12174 randomised controlled trial of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for infants say that it is high time we started giving PrEP to all breastfed babies of HIV-positive mothers in countries where the likelihood of transmission via breastfeeding remains significant.

March 2017

• Tshwane Men to Get the HIV Prevention Pill - Men who have sex with men will soon be able to get the HIV prevention pill in Tshwane. As of April 1, men who have sex with men will be able to get PrEP from a Hatfield clinic in central Pretoria. The clinic is run by health advocacy organization OUT LGBT Well-being, which already provides HIV prevention services, such as a needle exchange program, to people at high risk of HIV.

February 2017

• STI Rates in PrEP Users Very High, But Evidence that PrEP Increases them is Inconclusive - This aidsmap story covers a study that suggests increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections cannot easily be linked to PrEP. The study was presented in February at CROI.
• Unique Case of PrEP Failure Without Drug Resistance Reported from Amsterdam - Aidsmap reporter Gus Cairns takes a close look at the unusual first case of non-resistant HIV acquisition while adhering to PrEP.
• Oral PrEP Works Well in Women With Abnormal Vaginal Microbiota - POZ reports on findings that oral PrEP works for women even with an abnormal vaginal microbiome. The research address concerns raised by some studies that suggested vaginal gels used as PrEP were not as effective among women with a microbial imbalance in the vagina.

December 2016

• A pill revolutionized HIV prevention in gay men. DC wants black women to use it. - Washington, DC is making PrEP a priority for the city’s black women who face a high risk of acquiring HIV. A newly funded campaign tailored for black women hopes to raise PrEP’s profile, persuade the skeptics and extend access.
• HIV/AIDS: A large European survey confirms the necessity to make PrEP available throughout Europe - Findings from a large-scale pan-European survey show PrEP demand is encouragingly high but access is so low that significant numbers are obtaining PrEP informally, without the benefit of counseling and follow-up. Conducted by AIDES, Coalition PLUS and University of Amsterdam, Flash! Prep in Europe interviewed 16,000 people, in 10 languages, across 12 countries.

October 2016

• Norway Just Became the First Country to Offer the Leading HIV Prevention Drug for Free - Business Insider reports on Norway's decision to offer PrEP for free to at risk populations, after a two-year lobbying effort.​

September 2016

• New York Clinic Outlines How to Improve Uptake of PrEP by Transgender People - Rolling out PrEP right. aidsmap reporter Roger Pebody recently published a careful look at how one New York City clinic brought PrEP to a transgender community. Pebody’s story documents the steps taken by the Callen-Lourde Community Health Center to navigate the fault lines of a marginalized people and deliver a potent tool for HIV prevention.
• Nationwide PrEP Search Engine Debuts at US Conference on AIDS - Emory University and partners have developed a new web-based directory of PrEP providers across the US. The search engine can be used to help people find physicians or clinics in their area that will prescribe TDF/FTC as oral PrEP.

August 2016

• PrEP Introduction for Adolescent Girls and Young Women - In a commentary in Lancet HIV, authors Mathur, Pilgrim and Pulerwitz from the Population Council propose a framework that outlines the range of factors and actors to consider when designing PrEP introduction strategies for adolescent girls and young women.
• HIV Prevention Drug Truvada Won't Be Subsidised in Australia - A major Australian newspaper reports that the nation's drug funding panel has ruled PrEP will not be funded by taxpayers in Australia this year, The department of health announced that the price set by the drug's sponsor, Gilead Sciences, was too high.
• NHS Can Fund 'Game-changing' PrEP HIV Drug, Court Says - AIDS campaigners are celebrating a victory after a court ruled that NHS England can pay for “game-changer” drugs that prevent people being infected with HIV by their partners.

July 2016

• Europe Watchdog Recommends Licensing of Preventive AIDS Pill - The European Medicines Agency supports the marketing of Truvada, tenofovir’s brand name, as part of a combination prevention strategy using PrEP and safer sex practices.

June 2016

• PrEP Use Is Rising Fast in US, But Large Racial Disparities Remain - More than 49,000 people in the US have filled prescriptions for Truvada for PrEP at retail pharmacies, according to the results of a survey by Gilead Sciences. Among PrEP users with available data, most were white gay men. Black people used PrEP much less often, despite having the highest rates of HIV infection.
• Women in HIV Serodiscordant Relationships Less Likely to Take PrEP Consistently if They Experience Intimate Partner Violence - An aidsmap summary of additional data from the Partners PrEP trial in serodiscordant couples showing that intimate partner violence affects adherence—a finding that also exists for people taking ART as HIV treatment.
• The First Citywide Program to Get Black Women on PrEP Is Coming to Washington, DC - MAC AIDS Fund has announced a two-year commitment to educate African-American women in DC about PrEP and promote its use by getting more health-care providers, including public clinics, to prescribe it.
• Oral HIV Help for Sex Workers - The South African government launched the first phase of its PrEP access program with clinics that will provide access to all interested individuals—with a focus on sex workers.

May 2016

• NHS England Confirms Decision Not to Fund Drug that Helps Prevent HIV - NHS England has stood firm on its decision not to fund a preventative treatment for HIV.
• HIV Prevention Pill Approved in Australia - Truvada, which is used as a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV, has been approved in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the national regulatory authority.

April 2016

• University of California Launches First in the Nation PrEP Demo Project in Transgender People - The California HIV/AIDS Research Program (CHRP) of the University of California announced that it has awarded grants to provide and evaluate PrEP among transgender people at risk for HIV acquisition in California. This is the first PrEP demonstration project in the US to focus exclusively on transgender people.
• NHS To Reconsider Its Decision Not To Provide The HIV Prevention Drug - The NHS in England is to reconsider its controversial decision not to provide Truvada for HIV prevention.
• PrEP Pricing Problems - James Krellenstein and Jeremiah Johnson write in the April issue of TAGline about the high cost of PrEP as a deterrent to increased uptake. They discuss problems with Gilead’s medical and co-pay assistance program (MAP/CAP), the company’s reluctance to prioritize PrEP and how Gilead is “profiting from its PrEP monopoly”. The article ends with recommendations for Gilead which include increasing CAP contribution and aggressively promoting CAP and MAP.
• Gilead Statement on the Approval of PrEP in Peru - The Peru Ministry of Health has approved the use of fixed-dose combination of tenofovir disoproxyl fumarate and emtricitabine for PrEP.

March 2016

• Testing Integration of PrEP into Prevention Services for Sex Workers in Senegal - AVAC's Policy Director Kevin Fisher reports on a visit to a PrEP project underway in Senegal. This is the first in a planned P-Values series on PrEP in action.
• England's PrEP Policy in Disarray After NHS U-turn - Activists, individuals at risk of HIV and clinicians in the UK have reacted with anger to an official U-turn on provision of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Activists are calling upon UK government ministers to intervene and reverse the decision; a letter-writing campaign and petition are both open.
• UK NHS Punts on PrEP: Advocates call for decision reversal and wide access to PrEP - As reported in AVAC's blog, P-Values, long-time activist editor Gus Cairns wrote a piece highlighting the UK National Health Service’s silence around PrEP. Just hours later, NHS England released a statement announcing that a PrEP policy would not be included in the NHS’ June decision-making process as originally expected. HIV groups in the UK condemned the announcement.
• HIV Pre-Exposure Pill a Lifeline for Sex Workers - IOL News reports that The South African Department of Health and the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) are expected to announce that at least 3,000 sex workers will be eligible to begin taking PrEP. In addition, all HIV-positive sex workers will be eligible to start HIV treatment as soon as they test positive for the virus, regardless of CD4 count.
• Southern African Guidelines on the Safe Use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis in Persons at Risk of Acquiring HIV-1 Infection - The Southern African HIV Clinicians Society published revised and expanded PrEP guidelines (its first set were published in 2012 and limited to MSM) to support the use of PrEP as a safe and effective HIV prevention option for a range of populations in Southern Africa.
• Women Need More of the HIV Drug Truvada Than Men to Prevent Infection - Researchers at UNC Chapel Hill confirmed the importance of daily dosing of Truvada for HIV prevention, especially for women. The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, found that twice as much drug is needed to prevent HIV infection in vaginal and cervical tissue than rectal tissue due to the way the drug accumulates in different body tissues.

February 2016

• Health Canada Issues Notice of Compliance for Gilead's Truvada for Reducing the Risk of Sexually Acquired HIV Infection - Gilead announced that Health Canada, Canada’s health ministry, approved Truvada for prevention.
• Israel Approves Drug That Prevents HIV Infection - The Jerusalem Post reports that Israel will launch PrEP programs using daily oral TDF/FTC—making it one of a handful of countries offering PrEP for HIV prevention.
• Vaginal Ring with Drug Lowers HIV Rates in African Women - A flexible and inexpensive ring that is inserted into the vagina, where it slowly releases an antiviral drug, helped protect African women against contracting HIV from their sexual partners, researchers said in reports on two major studies that included more than 4,500 women.
• New HIV prEP Studies Will be a Challenge, Statisticians Warn - Two statisticians involved in the PROUD and iPrEx trials of PrEP warn that future trials to test new PrEP drugs and formulations may be extremely difficult to design. David Dunn of the UK Medical Research Council and David Glidden of the University of California at San Francisco say that statisticians will need to choose and analyze their trial populations very carefully if they wish to be able to demonstrate meaningful results.
• When Condoms Aren't Enough: to PrEP or not to PrEP? - Siya Mnyanda, a young South African, wrestles with the benefits and potential risk of taking PrEP. In an op-ed for Health24, he writes about why condoms are not enough in preventing HIV and concludes that PrEP is important to reduce HIV transmission.
• European Medicines Agency Validates Gilead’s Type II Variation Application for Truvada® for Reducing the Risk of Sexually Acquired HIV - On February 1, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) “validated” Gilead’s application for Truvada as PrEP, acknowledging the drug is finally and officially under evaluation for a prevention indication.
• When Condom's Aren't Enough: to PrEP or not to PrEP? - Siya Mnyanda, a young South African, wrestles with the benefits and potential risk of taking PrEP. In an op-ed for Health24, he writes about why condoms are not enough in preventing HIV and concludes that PrEP is important to reduce HIV transmission.

January 2016

• Dramatic Increase in Preexposure Prophylaxis Use Among MSM in Washington State - Using data from an annual survey conducted at the Seattle Pride Parade (2009-2015), authors of an article published in AIDS found that PrEP awareness and use among MSM in Seattle, Washington was high in 2015. In 2012 to 2015, among high-risk MSM, PrEP awareness increased from 13 percent to 86 percent and PrEP use increased from 5 percent to 31 percent.
• Approval of Truvada a Game Changer in Anti-HIV/AIDS Effort - Wanjiru Mukoma of LVCT Health applauds the recent approval of Truvada by Kenya and stresses that developing guidelines, fighting stigma and collaborating with stakeholders is key to an efficient integration of PrEP in health services.

December 2015

• When Can We Expect PrEP 2.0? - Benjamin Ryan of POZ discusses what's in the PrEP pipeline, looking forward to long-acting injectables and drugs less toxic than Truvada.
• Why Don't Women Know About This Lifesaving Drug? - 1 in 4 people living with HIV in the United States are women. Naveen Kumar of Refinery29 discusses why more women aren’t talking about PrEP—despite the fact that it's been FDA-approved since 2012—and the potential PrEP has to improve women’s health.

November 2015

• Give Us the 2-in-1 HIV Prophylaxis - In this Mail and Guardian editorial, South African advocates call on the South African government and health department to do its part to expand the provision of PrEP and integrate it into combination treatment and prevention programs before “people are agitated and take to the streets to demand these tools".
• 1 In 4 Gay Men Should Take The Pill That Prevents HIV, CDC Says - A report released by the US CDC finds that roughly 1.2 million people would benefit from PrEP based on their reported rates of otherwise unprotected risk behavior. That’s about 60 times higher than current estimates, which suggest about 21,000 people take the drug.
• French Minister of Health Gives Green Light to PrEP - Marisol Touraine, French Minister of Health, announced on November 23rd that PrEP will be authorized and made available in the first half of December.
• PleasePrEPMe.org Makes It Easier to Find Nearest California PrEP Provider - PleasePrEPme.org is an online searchable location-based directory for those in California looking for a PrEP provider.
• There's A Drug That Prevents HIV. Let's Use It. - TIME Magazine staff writer Alice Park discusses new data published in JAMA, PrEP’s “image problem”, and why now is the time for cities and states to follow San Francisco’s lead and make PrEP widely available.
• Change.org Petition Calls for Australian Health Minister to Allow Access to PrEP - A new petition launched the Victorian AIDS Council of Australia calls for Health Minister Sussan Ley to approve the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis in Australia. The petition cites recent research showing PrEP's effectiveness and points to the United States government's approval of its use.
• Uganda: Truvada Effective for HIV Prevention - Truvada as PrEP would make a dent in the HIV epidemic in Uganda. However, Truvada is currently only used as treatment.
• HIV-preventive Medicine Available from December in Kolkata’s Sonagachi - One of Asia’s largest red light districts, Sonagachi, will next month roll out an experimental project for providing HIV-preventive medicine to sex workers in what will be the first such initiative in the country.
• Truvada : parcours du combattant pour autoriser le médicament - First in France, Professor Molina PrEP consultation opens today at the Saint Louis Hospital (AP-HP), with the support of AIDS that will ensure the accompaniment of beneficiaries.
• Halting HIV Spread via Pre-exposure Prophylaxis - Speaking recently in Abuja, Nigeria, the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Professor John Idoko, announced a new PrEP demonstration project.

October 2015

• European AIDS Clinical Society - The European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) has released EACS Treatment Guidelines Version 8.0 that for the first time includes a recommendation on PrEP. EACS Guidelines favor use of PrEP in MSM, and include an “on demand” IPERGAY dosing schedule for MSM at high risk.
• When Will Europe Get PrEP? - Demand for access to PrEP in Europe is growing, but it is still not licensed or funded by any national or regional governments in Europe. All this and more was discussed at a session at the 15th European AIDS Conference.
• HIV Prevention Activists Launch Drive to Educate and Agitate for HIV PrEP Access - HIV prevention activists in London launched a new website, PrEPster.info, to educate and agitate for access to pre-exposure HIV prophylaxis (PrEP) on the NHS.
• Truvada as PrEP: A New HIV Prevention Option on the Table for Zimbabwe? - Given scientific evidence that PrEP works, Zimbabwean advocate Paul Sixpence, calls for PrEP rollout for young women, sex workers and serodiscordant couples in Zimbabwe.
• NHS ‘shouldn’t withhold PrEP any longer’, says National AIDS Trust - Public Health England announced that the number of HIV diagnoses from 2013 to 2014 has increased in the UK. In the wake of these findings, the National AIDS Trust is calling England's National Health Service to make PrEP an available prevention option.
• Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Related Stigma: Strategies to improve uptake and adherence - Despite high levels of efficacy, the implementation of PrEP has been slow. Bridget G. Haire, of Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity in Society, looks into stigma related to PrEP and how it negatively impacts implementation.
• A Wonder Drug to Prevent HIV (and Why More People Aren't Taking It) - An article in the BloombergView argues that slow uptake of PrEP in America is related to a lack of focus on HIV prevention in the health care system. Truvada is currently not mentioned in the American Academy of Family Physicans’ clinical recommendations to prevent HIV. The article argues that getting more people on PrEP will take a coordinated effort by both physicians and local governments to shift habits and decisions in the health-care system.
• US HIV Physicians Routinely Offering Early ART but Only a Third have Prescribed PrEP - According to research published in the online edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases, 87 percent of US doctors recommended antiretroviral therapy from the point of diagnosis and most thought PrEP appropriate in some circumstances. However, only a third had actually prescribed PrEP.
• Accessibility to Sexual Health Resources Among Diverse Populations - Steph Auteri, writing for aasect, links a New York Times article on a highly successful IUD promotion campaign in the US to what it will really take to address women’s sexual and reproductive health needs, including commentary on PrEP from IRMA’s Jim Pickett and AVAC’s Mitchell Warren.

September 2015

• Millions More Need HIV Treatment, WHO Says - The World Health Organization issued sweeping new guidelines on Wednesday that could put millions more people on HIV drugs than are now getting them. The recommendations could go a long way toward halting the epidemic, health officials say, but would cost untold billions of dollars not yet committed.
• ITM Launches Study on a Preventative Drug for HIV - The Institute for Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp has launched the Be-PrEP-ared study, the first Flemish research project on the applicability of preventative HIV medication. The researchers hope that the study, which focuses on gay men, can help to reduce the high number of new HIV infections among the target group.

August 2015

• Insurer Says Clients on Daily Pill Have Stayed HIV-Free - Published results show that San Francisco’s largest private health insurer, Kaiser Permanente, found no new HIV infections among its 657 clients who received PrEP over a period of more than two years.
• PrEP 'Care Continuum' IDs Barriers to Effective HIV Prevention - Researchers have devised and identified a framework, consisting of 5 steps, to achieve protection with PrEP.
• Gilead Applies for PrEP Approval in Canada - Gilead Sciences has applied for approval of Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in Canada.
• Movie stars and athletes say #BlackLivesMatter means stopping HIV - The team behind the film Blackbird — along with several notable others like former football player Wade Davis, actress Mo'Nique, filmmaker Patrik Ian Polk — have joined forces with Alabama’s largest HIV organization to talk about PrEP and its potential benefit for young black gay and bi men.
• Treatment news: AIDS Healthcare Foundation cedes ground in anti-PrEP fight - The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has long waged a vociferous battle against Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), has finally begun to offer measured support for the HIV prevention method.
• Oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis–putting a new choice in context - UNAIDS, WHO and AVAC collaborated on this new document intended to complement WHO recommendations and support optimal use of oral PrEP to protect individuals and contribute to ending the AIDS epidemic.
• Oral PrEP–a new tool for HIV prevention Q&A - A question and answer document on the basics of using and implementing PrEP.
• Here’s what we actually know about the pill that prevents HIV - Buzzfeed reports six things science taught us about PrEP.

July 2015

• ATN: 110 PrEP adherence challenges of young black gay men - ATN 110 demonstrated that participants that engage in higher risk HIV activities more frequently are more adherent to PrEP.
• Young South African women can adhere to daily PrEP regimen as HIV prevention - A clinical study funded by the National Institutes of Health has found that young, single black women in South Africa adhered to a daily pill regimen to prevent HIV infection — an HIV prevention strategy known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP.
• TDF2 OLE: High PrEP adherence results in zero infections - Heterosexual men and women in Botswana were highly adherent to pre-exposure prophylaxis, resulting in no new HIV infections during the course of 12 months, according to results from the the CDC’s TDF2 open-label extension trial.
• The pros and cons of PrEP: trial volunteers recount their experience of the ADAPT study - The reasons whether or not people come forward for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or take it once prescribed are likely to be very mixed, and dependent as much on local political and cultural beliefs as they are on more personal factors like relationship status.

June 2015

• HIV prevention pill test begins in Amsterdam gay, transgender community - The study will focus on the interest to use PrEP, compliance on taking the pill, how it is to use PrEP and whether the cost of this program outweigh the costs saved by preventing people from becoming infected with HIV.
• PrEP is not linked to greater risk for depression - A new paper out of the iPrEx study—a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of daily oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in men and transgender women who have sex with men—reported no link between taking Truvada for oral PrEP and experiencing depression.
• New Zealand PrEP trial gets green light - The New Zealand AIDS Foundation has been given the go-ahead from Pharmac and the Ministry of Health to trial PrEP in New Zealand.
• South African AIDS Activists Demand PrEP NOW - As the 7th SA AIDS conference gets underway in Durban, a diverse collection of advocates have assembled to call on the South African Medicines Control Council (MCC) to immediately approve the use of Truvada PrEP.
• Provision of PrEP in the UK will be cost-effective for gay men at high risk of HIV, model finds - A cost-effective model of PrEP for gay men based on data from the PROUD study finds that providing PrEP from 2016 on will be cost-effective if gay men continue to test for HIV at the current rate and do not substantially reduce existing rates of condom use
• Kuehl to Introduce Motion to Distribute PrEP Throughout L.A. County - Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl will introduce a motion that calls for “a robust, comprehensive program to deliver Pre‑Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) throughout the County.”

May 2015

• Season of Risk: Austin's HIV rate is on the rise, again. Can a "miracle drug" reverse the trend? - The barriers to PrEP access are discussed along with the unilateral decisions doctors can make for the well-being of their patients.
• New PrEP Assistance Program is the Latest Step in the Effort to End the Epidemic in New York State by the End of 2020 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the launch of a new PrEP Assistance Program in NY. The program will reimburse eligible providers for the package of care and support services required for eligible individuals receiving PrEP.

April 2015

• David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband praise HIV prevention drug PrEP - During a Q&A session for Gay Times Magazine, three main political party leaders of the UK all praised PrEP as an intervention tool.
• “Why should I take drugs for your infection?”: outcomes of formative research on the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in Nigeria - Results from a formative study conducted in Nigeria to obtain data on public opinions, interest and perceptions on appropriate target groups for PrEP access and the use of PrEP as an HIV-prevention tool.
• Pre-exposure prophylaxis works—it's time to deliver - A commentary from the leadership of the International AIDS Society on the urgency and relevance of implementing daily oral PrEP as an HIV prevention option for all people at risk of HIV.
• The Future of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis - This video urges us to begin using PrEP more widely outside clinical trials to see a public health impact.

March 2015

• Would a Pill to Protect Teens from HIV Make Them Feel Invincible? - Youth NPR interviews youths who are taking PrEP or interested in it and the potential risks.

February 2015

• Daily Pill Truvada Cuts Spread of HIV by 86 percent, Study Shows - The PROUD study that tested the effectiveness of Truvada on preventing HIV is shown to cut infections among men who have sex with men by 86 percent.
• Pill Taken Before, After Sex May Prevent HIV - The IPERGAY study also showed that PrEP reduces the risk of HIV infection by 86 percent.
• HIV prevention saves over $250G in a lifetime - PrEP could be a game-changer in not only preventing HIV but saving costs.
• Calls for 'turning point' HIV drug to be available on NHS - After trials show the effectiveness of PrEP, the British gay community is calling NHS England to make PrEP widely available.