People at risk of HIV in Scotland to be given PrEP drug on NHS

People at risk of HIV in Scotland are to be given drugs on the NHS that will protect them from infection, it has been announced, in a move that Aids campaigners say will put pressure on the authorities in England to end delays in providing the same medication despite two major court rulings.

In a major victory for campaigners, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) said pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) would be free on the NHS to those who need it because they are at risk – for instance, if they have a partner with HIV. Access to the drugs could begin within weeks.

NHS England resisted rolling out PrEP due to its cost, although it is a lot cheaper than a lifetime of HIV treatment which could cost £360,000. It lost to campaigners in the high court and then the court of appeal, but those who want to take PrEP have been told they must wait for a big new trial to answer “significant outstanding implementation questions”.

The National Aids Trust (NAT), which funded the court battle in England, said it was delighted PrEP would shortly be available in Scotland. “This game-changing prevention tool has the potential to massively reduce HIV rates and turn Scotland into a model internationally of how to do HIV prevention well. The speed and decisiveness of the Scottish process contrasts starkly with delays in the other three UK nations,” said Deborah Gold, NAT’s chief executive.

“Though we were jubilant when, following our two successful court cases, NHS England agreed steps to fund PrEP, we remain concerned that since that date, progress towards the ultimate goal of PrEP in England has been slow. It is difficult not to think of the possible thousands of HIV diagnoses that could have been prevented had the NHS in England not prevaricated, and we urge them to pursue the promised trial with appropriate urgency.”

The PrEP4Scotland Coalition (made up of HIV Scotland, Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland, Waverley Care and NAT) which has campaigned and negotiated with the Scottish authorities on the introduction of PrEP, said: “We applaud the SMC for taking this bold step to tackling HIV in Scotland. PrEP provides opportunities to reinvigorate how people at higher risk of HIV exposure engage with testing and prevention opportunities, and it is a vital opportunity to make a real reduction in the number of new HIV transmissions.”

Trials in several countries around the world including the UK have shown beyond doubt that PrEP works. The drug used is Truvada, which is one of a cocktail used to treat people infected with the virus and keep them well. PrEP has been hailed as one of the tools that could help end the Aids epidemic and efforts are being made to get it introduced into high-burden countries such as South Africa.

Every year about 5,000 people become infected with HIV in the UK and the rate among men who have sex with men is rising fastest. This was the group in whom the trials in the UK were done and where the evidence is strongest.

But NHS England dragged its feet because of the cost – estimated at potentially £20m a year to treat everyone who could benefit. It attempted to shift the bill to the local authorities, who are now responsible for public health, including HIV, obesity and smoking.

The local authorities said they could not afford to pay either. NAT sued NHS England in the high court and won last August. NHS England took its case to the court of appeal and lost again in November.

In December, NHS England said it would make the drugs available through a trial, which would enrol at least 10,000 people over the next three years.

NHS England said there were issues that needed addressing in a trial – which may include how consistently people take the daily tablets and how long they stay on the regime. But a trial also allows the NHS to obtain cheaper generic versions of the drug, rather than paying the market price to Gilead, the manufacturer and patent holder of Truvada. NHS England has already asked various companies to tender to supply the pills.

Prof Noel Gill, head of Public Health England’s HIV and STI department, said: “All the detailed work underpinning the clinical trial of PrEP is well under way and we expect it will commence by the summer 2017.”

Scotland’s decision to part with the NHS in England follows a huge community effort and years of campaigning, said HIV Scotland. “In 2016 HIV Scotland published a PrEP good practice guide, and administered Scotland’s expert group which produced prescribing criteria, cost assessments, and mapped information and training needs of workers and the community,” said its chief executive George Valiotis.

“Today, Scotland has made history in the fight against the HIV epidemic,” said
Robert McKay, national director for Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland. “PrEP can now be used as a vital tool – alongside condom use, regular testing and early treatment – to help bring an end to HIV transmission in Scotland.

“Not only will this make a life-changing difference to individuals by protecting them from a lifelong and stigmatised condition, but for every person who would have become HIV positive without PrEP, NHS Scotland will save £360,000 in lifetime treatment costs.”

People at risk of HIV in Scotland to be given PrEP drug on NHS