Welsh Government advised not to fund 'game-changing' HIV drug

The drug PrEP has been described as "game-changing" by the Terrence Higgins Trust Credit: Terrence Higgins Trust

The Welsh Government have been advised not to fund a HIV prevention treatment - despite the drugs being called "game-changing" by a leading HIV charity.

Although the Welsh Government have yet to announce their decision on whether on not they will fund the drug, called PrEP, the Terrence Higgins Trust say they are "disappointed" by the recommendation proposed by the All Wales Medicines Strategy Group (AWMSG).

Last year, NHS England lost its appeal against the commission of HIV drug PrEP after a leading Aids charity won a High Court battle to have the preventative treatment available on the NHS.

Earlier this month the Scottish Government announced they would be the first UK country to fund PrEP on the NHS.

What is PrEP?

  • Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a course of HIV drugs taken by HIV negative people that effectively stops HIV infection.

  • The medication used for PrEP is a tablet called Truvada, which contains tenofovir and emtricitabine (which are drugs commonly used to treat HIV).

  • The World Health Organisation guidelines state PrEP improves opportunities for people to access other services such as HIV testing, STI screening and counselling.

In response, the AWMSG said it would be "inappropriate to provide a comment" until the appraisal process has run its course.