NHS England Launches ‘ Game Changing’ HIV Treatment Trial

The National Health Services in England will make a Game changing PrEP drug to be available that will help to prevent HIV transmission next year.

Three year clinical trial with 10000 people will pave way for the prevention of the disease pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

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‘National Health Services in England to launch trial for HIV preventive drug.’

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The drug will be made available after the court ruling said that NHS England could provide the drug.

According to the High Court ruling held last month, NHS England have the power to fund for the drug despite the responsibilities with local authorities.

NHS England has announced a large scale clinical trial for the drug ‘ Truvada’ next year. Even though there is clinical evidence stating the effectiveness of use of PrEP drug. The Public Health in England has highlighted potential issues that need answers.

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NHS England has said, that these questions will be answered by the clinical trial which has 10,000 members over the next three years and has a bill of £10m.

Dr Jonathan Fielden, deputy national medical director at NHS England, said the new trial had “in part, been made possible by the willingness of many pharmaceutical and device companies to come forward with lower and more responsible prices. Continuing this constructive joint working will enable us to fund more new drugs and treatments in the future”.

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Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at PHE, said, “Currently 13,500 people are living in the UK with undiagnosed HIV and we are still seeing around 5,000 new infections each year.

“Given we are in the fourth decade of this epidemic there are too many new infections occurring, and we need to use all tools available to save lives and money.”

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Truvada is a drug used to treat HIV positive patients, it is also used to prevent HIV in US, England, France and Australia.

Izzi Seccombe, from the Local Government Association, said “We are pleased that NHS England has acted quickly and chosen to fund the commissioning of this trial and rollout of PrEP. We now want to stand united with the NHS to defeat the spread of HIV.”

“With 17 new HIV diagnoses made every day, we need to be bold and ambitious in our approach to HIV prevention – and this must include access to PrEP for all who need it, said Ian Green, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust.

He said that as well as protecting people from an incurable and highly stigmatised condition, there would be a saving to the NHS of £360,000 in lifetime treatment costs for every person who would have become HIV positive without PrEP.

However the trial does not provide long-term stability and the Health Services must commit that they provide funds for people who are at risk after the trial.

Source-Medindia