23 May 2016 - Leading Australian HIV researchers are calling for the antiretroviral drug, emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Truvada), to be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy for people at high risk of contracting HIV, after the drug’s regulatory approval earlier this month.

Professor Andrew Grulich, head of the HIV Epidemiology and Prevention Program at The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, said a PBS listing for Truvada as PrEP was “absolutely critical” to maximise the prevention impact of the drug, which is taken daily.

“The retail cost of the drug is close to $1000 a month in Australia, which is obviously not affordable to anybody except very small minorities,” Professor Grulich told MJA InSight.

For more details, go to: https://www.mja.com.au/insight/2016/19/truvada-gets-tga-nod-pbs-listing-vital