Government begins trial with PrEP HIV inhibitor

The government will provide PrEP, a drug that reduces the risk of HIV infection, to men in a "high-risk group" for a five-year period. Minister Bruno Bruins (Medical Care, VVD) announced on Tuesday.

The drug is prescribed in a research setting, where participants receive medical care every three months. PrEP is an HIV inhibitor that reduces the risk of infection by about 90%. The lawsuit will cost 22 million euros, but is expected to save 33 million euros in health costs, the minister writes.

The government wants to use the trial to determine if the at-risk group – men who have sex with men – is reached, if the number of HIV infections actually decreases and if the drugs are swallowed. The approach of other sexually transmitted diseases is also "monitored".

The National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) estimates the number of participants in the test at 6,500. The minister hopes to prescribe 250 HIV infections a year by prescribing the drug.

GGD Amsterdam has already been producing PrEP for one year in 2016. Finally a pill against HIV. Or a permit for unprotected sex?

Advice Health Council

Minister Bruins follows the advice of the Health Council. Every year, 800 people are infected with HIV in the Netherlands, the Health Council calculated in March. Two-thirds of them are men who have sex with men.

Although measures such as providing information and stimulating STD testing and condom use have an effect, the Board of Health does not anticipate further reduction in the number of HIV infections in the group at risk. The Board therefore recommended that a trial be conducted with PrEP, which could help further reduce the number of new HIV infections.

Bruins also expects the PrEP trial to have more positive effects than savings and reduce the burden of the disease. :

"PrEP contributes to the mental and social well-being of the user, in particular by limiting fear and stigmatization. PrEP can therefore have a positive effect on quality of life and enable full participation in society without chronic illness.

By the end of this year, it should be clear how the trial is set up by the RIVM and the GGD. Bruins hopes to start the national trial next year.

The pill costs 48 euros per month. The government reimburses three quarters of the costs, which means that participants pay a personal contribution of 12 euros each month.