Federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, has today announced that Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from April 1st this year.
The announcement amounts to a government subsidy of $180 million and means that PrEP, an antiretroviral medication taken by HIV negative people to prevent infection, will soon be available to high-risk patients for $39.50 a month.
"PrEP is a medical innovation that will save Australian lives and the decision to list it is one of the most significant advancements in HIV transmission Australia has ever seen," Mr Hunt said.
He continued: "32,000 patients each year will pay a maximum of only $39.50 per script … without subsidy, patients would pay $2,496 per year for this medicine."
"Access to PrEP will not only benefit gay and bisexual men but will also drive down rates of HIV in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, migrant communities and other population groups which have seen increased transmission rates over recent years."
The news was welcomed by ACON, a New South Wales based health organisation specialising in HIV prevention and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) health.
“This listing of PrEP on the PBS is very important as it finally gives affordable access to the highly effective HIV prevention drug to people across Australia,” ACON President Dr Justin Koonin said in a statement.
He continued: “We are thrilled this milestone has been achieved. Widespread access to PrEP is critical if we are to meet our goal of ending HIV transmissions in NSW so we commend the Australian Government on this decision."
“We know that PrEP works and today’s announcement will ensure those who would benefit most from PrEP will now be able to access it in an affordable way,” Dr Koonin concluded.
CEO of ACON, Nicolas Parkhill, added: “Our community has demonstrated that it is ready to incorporate PrEP into their lives as part of the range of HIV prevention options that we now have available.”
Nic Holas, co-founder of The Institute of Many (TIM), Australia’s largest grassroots movement for people living with HIV, previously described the "urgent" nature of the fight for national access to PrEP.
“PrEP is a necessary and urgent tool, and one of a new array of options in the fight to end HIV,” Holas said earlier this year.
“We have long said that until PrEP is fully accessible, it will not be fully effective. We have already seen in some jurisdictions how PrEP, in combination with other prevention methods, testing strategies, and meaningful community engagement, has helped to reduce instances of HIV transmission. Now, we hope to see the same effect across the country, and beyond just the community of gay and bisexual men affected by HIV.”
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Holas continued: “For too long, people living with HIV have born the brunt of expectation, responsibility, and blame when it comes to keeping the community safe from HIV. PrEP offers HIV negative people the opportunity to take more responsibility for their own safety.”
Under the new listing, patients will receive a three-month prescription and a sexual health check on each visit to the GP.
