Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a way to protect against HIV infection. It is medication meant for people who don't have HIV to keep them from getting it.
METRO has joined almost 50 leading HIV organisations across Europe in calling upon the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and European Medicines Agency to introduce and implement long-acting injectable PrEP to reduce HIV cases in Europe.
Having already passed approval in Australia, Botswana, Malawi, South Africa, US, and Zimbabwe, we now call for the long-acting formulation of cabotegravir PrEP (LA-CAB) to be introduced in Europe at the earliest opportunity.
Additionally, we support the call to:
- push for national LA-CAB implementation projects while collecting data to inform guidelines for full scale-up
- advocate for the affordability of LA-CAB regionally and globally
- challenge the social and structural barriers to the introduction of PrEP
Our Head of HIV, Jaime Sylla said,
“Oral PrEP has had an undeniable impact in reducing HIV incidence, particularly amongst gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. The welcome addition of LA-CAB to currently existing HIV prevention approaches, such as condom use and treatment as prevention through oral PrEP and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), has the potential to have an even greater impact by helping address the health needs of those who struggle to take medication orally, as well as those of populations that are currently underserved in prevention settings.”