US Gov To Make PrEP Free Through Insurance
The U.S. government is making a strong push in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
PrEP to Be Available for Free Even If You’re Uninsured
Uninsured Americans can now apply for free PrEP drugs through the federal government. The Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday launched Ready, Set, PrEP, a national program to distribute medications used for pre-exposure prophylaxis, a strategy to prevent HIV-negative people from becoming infected with the virus. Truvada and Descovy,…
Instagram Rejected an Ad For HIV Meds Because The Topic is ‘Too Political’
They’re owned by Facebook, the social media giant who allows politicians to lie in political ads. But telling gay and bi men about PrEP is too far? Instagram is banning ads for PrEP directed at gay and bi men for being too political. The site is owned by Facebook, which…
Gavin Newsom expands PrEP to CA residents without a prescription
In a historic move, California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a sweeping bill that will allow residents of the state to get anti-HIV drug regimens PrEP and PEP without a prescription. The new bill expands the authority of pharmacists to dispense between a 30 and 60 day supply of the drug Truvada, which…
A Generic Version of Truvada Will Be Available by 2020
Gilead Sciences has agreed to break its patent a year earlier than anticipated. Gilead Sciences—the pharmaceutical company that holds a patent on the highly effective HIV prevention drug Trvuada, or PrEP—is releasing its hold on the drug earlier than expected, meaning a generic version of Truvada will be available as early…
Out Rep. Brian Sims Goes Public On His PrEP Use To Fight ‘Stigma’
Out Pennsylvania Representative Brian Sims, has come out publicly about his own use of PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a daily pill that has proven highly effective in preventing HIV transmission. “Starting this day off smart, proactive, and in control!” Sims wrote in the Instagram post alongside a photo of his Truvada…
PrEP Use Jumps to 35 Percent Among Gay and Bi Men at Risk of HIV
A third of gay and bisexual men use PrEP for HIV prevention, and nine in 10 are aware of it, but the CDC says the drug is still underused. Thirty-five percent of gay and bisexual men at high risk of HIV infection were using PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, the daily…
New Case of PrEP Failure Documented in San Francisco
Doctors have diagnosed a San Francisco man on PrEP with HIV. The case marks only the third documented occasion in the United States in which the widely-prescribed and lauded health regimen to prevent HIV infection has failed. The announcement came at IDWeek, a conference for members of the Infectious Diseases…
While England is Making PrEP Dramatically Cheaper, American Men Still Can’t Afford It
Thanks to a court ruling in the UK, a cheaper generic version of PrEP could be available in the future, but in the United States, only 4% of men who have sex with men are using the drug — and cost is a big culprit. PrEP has shown itself…
How Accessible is PReP in America, Anyway?
Health experts offer differing views on how easy (and affordable) it is to obtain the HIV-preventative drug. According to a July op-ed in The New York Times, “the major reason” why over 90% of the 1.2 million Americans who need Truvada (the brand drug used in the U.S. as PrEP),…
#BreakThePatent: How HIV activists are going after Gilead’s PrEP patent
Activists are pushing the government to “march in” and break the pharma giant’s Truvada patent. Their promise is tantalizing: end the HIV epidemic without a vaccine. But how? In an op-ed published this week in The New York Times, two prominent HIV activists and a physician argue “the solution comes in a…