NHS eyeing long-lasting jab to keep HIV at bay

A JAB that offers long-lasting protection for people at a higher risk of catching HIV could soon be offered on the NHS.

The drug, cabotegravir, which is administered every two months, is an alternative to the daily pills now given to at-risk groups to stop them contracting the virus which can lead to life-threatening AIDS.

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency concluded earlier this month that cabotegravir could be offered as a preventative treatment, and the NHS spending watchdog is now looking at whether it should fund the rollout of the £1,000-per-dose drug.

Each year in the UK there are about 4,000 new diagnoses of HIV, a sexually transmitted virus that damages immune cells.

Currently, people with an increased risk of an HIV infection – including HIV-negative men who have unprotected sex with men or the partners of

‘It is well tolerated, causing fewer side effects than the daily pill’

people with HIV – are offered a daily pill known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The tablets block an enzyme in the body that HIV needs to spread. It costs about £40 for one month’s supply, and studies show it reduces the risk of infection by 99 per cent when taken every day.

But experts say the NHS should fund cabotegravir, which blocks the same enzyme as PrEP, as many patients forget to take the tablets. Research suggests that around a fifth of people eligible for PrEP in the UK do not take it as instructed.

Dr John McSorley, a consultant sexual health expert at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, said: ‘Trials show cabotegravir is really well tolerated, meaning it causes fewer side effects such as stomach pains. And it could benefit patients who struggle to remember to take PrEP.’