Tag Archives: PrEP

But not AIDS itself. The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Australia’s peak AIDS organisations and scientists have announced an end to the AIDS epidemic, as the country joins the few nations in the world to have beaten the syndrome. The number of annual cases of AIDS diagnoses is now so small, top researchers and the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations have …

Via Pink News: The newest winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Bob the Drag Queen, is urging people to take the anti-HIV medication, PrEP. The Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) drug Truvada can reduce people’s chances of being infected with HIV by up to 99 percent, if taken daily. In the latest HIV Beats video by the #endHIV campaign, Bob says: “Oh hey! …

The BBC reports: NHS England has reiterated it will not fund a “game-changer” drug treatment that can prevent HIV, angering HIV charities which had been campaigning to reverse the decision. The NHS is standing firm and says it has no responsibility to provide the treatment, known as Prep. It says the onus should fall on local authorities instead. Charities have …

Patrick Strudwick reports at Buzzfeed: The NHS in England is to reconsider its controversial decision not to provide the drug that prevents HIV, BuzzFeed News can reveal. Faced with the threat of legal action by one of Britain’s leading HIV charities, NHS England’s lawyers have said that a dedicated committee will meet next month to look again at the pronouncement. …

Patrick Strudwick reports at Buzzfeed: HIV charities are shocked and angry over a “shameful” NHS statement released on Monday announcing that the drug that prevents HIV infection will not be made widely available on the NHS. NHS England published a decision on its website on Monday — following an 18-month consideration period — outlining its reasons for not funding Truvada …

Some of the most ardent proponents of PrEP have warned that few medications are 100% effective. Today, sadly, comes proof. Poz.com reports: Researchers have for the first time documented a case of an individual contracting HIV, a multi-drug resistant strain, while apparently adhering well to the daily regimen of Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The scientists concluded that it …

Fulton County, Georgia – whose county seat is Atlanta – has launched a no-cost PrEP clinic in collaboration with Gilead, the maker of Truvada. Matt Hennie reports at Project Q Atlanta: Fulton County health officials openly embraced PrEP for HIV prevention on Friday, launching a new clinic for the once-a-day pill to combat the virus among high-risk groups, including gay …

Via press release from the ever-combative AHF: Advocates from AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) stepped up efforts to ensure that Gilead Sciences, Inc. be held accountable for promoting off-label use of Truvada for use as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV infection. AHF also wants Gilead to be compelled to promote and market use of its AIDS treatment in accordance with …

The use of the medication Truvada as an HIV preventive, a strategy known as PrEP, has not yet been approved by Britain’s National Health Service, a step the FDA took in 2012. Last night the BBC hosted a discussion on the issue in which a representative from the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation expressed his reservations. As you probably know, …

This is pretty major. Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade: Hillary Clinton unveiled on Thursday her comprehensive policy platform aimed at continuing advancements in LGBT rights. The Democratic presidential front-runner said in a statement her proposal would build off the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling this year in favor of same-sex marriage. But the document announces a few new initiatives, …

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation today announced that it has placed full-page anti-PrEP ads in gay newspapers all over the country. The full ad is below. They write: A new advocacy ad by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) takes aim at the failure of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), the use of Gilead Sciences’ AIDS treatment Truvada to prevent HIV transmission in uninfected …

Last night a group of noted AIDS activists including Peter Staley and Larry Kramer met in the very apartment where the Gay Men’s Health Crisis was formed 33 years ago to denounce the “abusive pricing” and “profiteering” which continues to put cost of PrEP beyond the means of much of the world. The group has issued a statement: We – …

For World AIDS Day, CNN’s Sanjay Gupta today reported on PrEP, which is the daily usage of Truvada as an HIV preventive. CNN’s piece characterized PrEP as “controversial” – when in fact it has been endorsed by the CDC and virtually all HIV/AIDS activists and organizations. So you can guess where this “controversy” is REALLY coming from. Watch below.

Duncan Osbourne reports at Gay City News: Moving on the Plan to End AIDS, the City Council will spend $6.6 million to fund pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis programs and efforts to aid people with HIV in staying on anti-HIV drugs so they remain non-infectious. “This initiative will help continue to provide programs and education to raise awareness of this devastating …

The New York Times reports: Everyone who has H.I.V. should immediately be put on antiretroviral triple therapy and everyone at risk of becoming infected should be offered protective doses of similar drugs, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday as it issued new H.I.V. treatment and prevention guidelines. The guidelines increase by nine million the number of people who should …

Several days ago a trade organization for the porn industry sent out an alert about the ever-combative AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which is most famous for its deep-pocketed advertising campaigns against the use of Truvada as an HIV preventive. From the Free Speech Coalition: Earlier this week, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) served several testing centers with subpoenas, asking them to …

Poz.com reports: A group of 15 researchers and clinical investigators at Northwestern University received a $17.5 million grant to develop an implant capable of delivering meds that protect against HIV, according to a press release from the McCormick School of Engineering. The hope is that the implants would last for up to a year. The five-year project is underwritten by …

Three years ago today the FDA approved Truvada as a daily HIV preventive. Since then PrEP has remained controversial. Powerful naysayers like the AIDS Healthcare Foundation run anti-PrEP ads in a major publications while other HIV/AIDS groups and health departments in major US cities vigorously promote PrEP for at-risk populations. In another PrEP promotion, the hook-up app Scruff is today …

VICE has launched a three-part series titled The Truvada Revolution.  A drug called Truvada is the first the FDA-approved means of preventing HIV infection. If an HIV-negative person takes the pill every day, they’re nearly 99 percent protected from contracting the virus. Controversy continues to surround the broad uptake of Truvada, but the landscape of safer sex and HIV-prevention changes …

Poz.com reports: Daily Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV takes five to seven days to reach top estimated effectiveness among men who have sex with men (MSM). High levels of protection are maintained for perhaps a week after the last dose. According to levels of drug detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and comparisons of those results to …