HIV prevention drug

[projekktor id=’21006′]

Last month, a company called Gilead applied to Health Canada to expand the function of an existing drug called ‘Truvada’.

Truvada is already used in Canada as part of HIV treatment but research has shown it’s very effective at preventing HIV infections as well. If it’s approved for expanded use, it will be sold under the name PrEP which stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis. Truvada was approved for use as PrEP in the U.S. in 2012.

Earlier this month, a real-use study of the drug in San Francisco was released and showed impressive results. 600 gay men at high risk for HIV infection took PReP for two and a half years. At the end of the study, not a single one was infected.

Glen Walker, executive director of Positive Living Niagara, believes these results could be mirrored in Canada. “If we can find people who are high risk, we can get them using the medication, then we will see some dramatic results, I think in terms of fewer infections.”

There are about 850 new cases of HIV each year in Ontario, and that number has remained relatively stable for the past decade. These cases tend to occur in gay and bisexual men, injection drug users and sex trade workers. But unfortunately, the people who would benefit from PReP the most may not be able to afford it. It would cost about $1000 per month.