China has finally approved the HIV-preventing drug Truvada for PrEP use after a lengthy campaign by activists, PinkNews reports. According to the Centre for Disease Control, Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP) is when people at risk for HIV take daily medicine to prevent HIV. PrEP can stop HIV from taking hold and spreading throughout your body. When taken daily, PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV from sex or injection drug use.
In a press release released last week by Gilead, they report that Truvada is the first medicine approved for HIV prevention in China. Previously, Truvada was approved in combination with other antiretroviral medicines as a treatment for HIV-1 infection in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older. SPS Global reports that The China National Medical Products Administration approved Truvada based on two clinical trials that showed that patients treated with the therapy had lower detectable HIV antibodies compared to the placebo arm.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) reports that this move by the Chinese government is an important step towards total HIV prevention. “UNAIDS commends the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China for approving Truvada for PrEP use,” Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific said. “This is an important step in addressing what has been a critical gap in HIV prevention.”
According to UNAIDS, 44% of infections in 2019 were among men who have sex with men. PrEP has shown significant positive results in reducing the risk of getting HIV infections through sexual transmission and is one of the five pillars of the UNAIDS global combination prevention intervention package.
“The next step is to scale up the PrEP implementation and ensure that it is affordable and accessible for all those who need it. UNAIDS hopes that this approval paves the way for negotiations on affordable pricing and we expect China will see the declines in new infections that we have observed in countries that have added PrEP to their HIV prevention services,” Eamonn Murphy, UNAIDS Regional Director adds.
“With the approval of Truvada for PrEP, Gilead is now able [to] offer options for PrEP and treatment – as we strive to help people living with and at risk of acquiring HIV and to partner with the government and healthcare community to improve public health in China,” Rogers Luo, Vice President & China General Manager, Gilead Sciences says.
