NHS can offer 'game-changing' HIV drug, court says

The High Court in London has ruled that NHS England can fund a "game-changing" drug that prevents HIV.

The health authority had argued that because the drug was preventative, it was up to local authorities to provide it.

However, Mr Justice Green said there was nothing stopping the NHS from paying for the pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep) drug.

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The one-a-day drug has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection by more than 90 per cent and has been called a "game-changer" by campaigners. "The idea," reports the BBC, "is to give it to uninfected men who are having unprotected sex with other men."

Today's ruling followed a legal challenge to NHS England's decision by the National Aids Trust charity, which argued the health body has the legal power to commission the drug, says The Guardian.

One argument in favour of Prep is that although expensive, it is cheaper than the costs involved in treating HIV. "It is economically viable for large-scale healthcare providers compared to the cost of treating a higher number of HIV infections," says Pink News.Harry Dodd, one of 500 gay men in England taking Prep in a trial, told the BBC: "To be able to have sex without having that fear hanging over you all the time is huge."

Gay lifestyle magazine Attitude has been highly critical of the decision by NHS England. "In what has become a recurring theme, authorities have once again met the opportunity to tackle rising HIV transmission rates with complacency and disregard," it said in an opinion piece earlier this year.

"The government and its health authorities have systematically chosen to address the [HIV] epidemic with inertia and silence."