Victoria Launches $1.4 Million Trial To Give Thousands Access To PrEP

"The federal Liberal government needs to stop delaying and make this drug more affordable and accessible for people at risk of HIV.”

Victoria is calling on the federal government to reverse its decision not to list a drug on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that prevents the spread of HIV.

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Truvada, also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is a anti-retroviral medication that prevents the contraction of HIV through one pill a day. Evidence shows when taken consistently it is 96-98% effective at preventing HIV infection.

Gilead Australia’s application to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) to have Truvada included on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) was rejected last week. A listing on the PBS would have made it more widely available and cheaper.

HIV advocates believe the application was rejected because Gilead asked the government to subsidise the full retail price of the drug and to restrict access only to people with a higher risk of contracting HIV.

“[Gilead’s] attempt to limit PBS subsidy of Truvada to a smaller, high-risk subset of the whole ‘at risk’ population was not feasible and would not be acceptable to prescribers or consumers,” a spokesperson from the Department of Health said.

But the Victorian government doesn't accept the decision.

It has written to the PBAC and federal health minister Sussan Ley requesting a review in six months time, and asking the federal government to intervene and create a short-term solution for easier access to the drug.

“A decision to not list Truvada on the PBS is extremely disappointing," Victorian health minister Jill Hennessy told BuzzFeed News.

"The federal Liberal government needs to stop delaying and make this drug more affordable and accessible for people at risk of HIV.”

A spokesperson for minister Ley told BuzzFeed News the PBAC is completely independent, and the minister would not be stepping in to interfere with its decision. The spokesperson said the government only invested in drugs that were recommended by the PBAC and pointed to the billions of dollars invested in hepatitis C treatment as an example.

On Monday, the Victorian government will launch PrEPX, a $1.4 million trial where 2,600 people across Melbourne, Geelong, Wodonga and Bendigo will receive PrEP.

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The trial is expected to reduce new HIV infections in Victoria by to 30% in the next few years.

"PrEP is critical to achieving our goal of virtual elimination of new HIV infections by 2020 – that’s why we’re giving thousands of Victorians access to it safely, when they need it and free from stigma and discrimination," Hennessy said.

Hennessy has asked Ley to contribute resources or funding to its PrEPX trial.

The head of the centre for population health, professor Margaret Hellard says the rapid uptake of clinically supervised PrEP among gay men in Victoria is unprecedented internationally.

"With the innovative HIV surveillance system maintained at the Burnet Institute with support from the Victorian government, we are also in a unique position to determine the population-level impact of PrEP. Our experiences with the scale-up of PrEP will therefore have global influence on the future of HIV prevention," she said.