PrEP approved in Scotland

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) today announced PrEP, the HIV prevention treatment, will be made available on the NHS in Scotland.

"We are delighted that the SMC has taken this decisive step in ensuring that this additional tool in our fight against HIV is available to those who need it in Scotland. We know from our own extensive experience in HIV prevention that the more ways in which we can fight this virus and reduce transmission the closer we come to beating HIV in our lifetimes.", Dr Greg Ussher, METRO Charity CEO.

The PrEP4Scotland Coalition (HIV Scotland, Terrence Higgins Trust Scotland, Waverley Care, and NAT (National AIDS Trust)) welcomes the announcement by the SMC, “We applaud the SMC for taking this bold step to tackling HIV in Scotland. PrEP provides opportunities to reinvigorate how people at higher risk of HIV exposure engage with testing and prevention opportunities, and it is a vital opportunity to make a real reduction in the number of new HIV transmissions.

“All NHS Boards in Scotland need to now follow the SMC’s advice and ensure they’re making PrEP available to those who need it, so that no-one at risk is left behind.”

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) can be used by people who are HIV negative to lower their risk of acquiring HIV infection. The drug that the SMC has approved for use as PrEP is Truvada.

Read more from the National AIDS Trust (NAT).