Hugely effective anti-HIV drug should be made widely available to halt rising numbers of new cases

An anti-HIV pill should be made available on the NHS, a leading Scottish charity has said.

Truvada, which is a preventative medication, drastically cuts the chances of someone acquiring HIV-related infections.

Originally developed as a drug to treat patients already infected with the disease, it has not been used as a preventative measure in the UK before.

Now health charity HIV Scotland is calling for the drug to be prescribed to “at risk” groups.

George Valiotis, HIV Scotland's chief executive, said: “We are calling for action and asking the Scottish Government and the NHS to expedite making this drug available. Our view is the evidence on the drug is clear; time after time in global studies it is a highly effective prevention initiative.”

This year 270 new cases of HIV have been identified in Scotland and it is estimated there are 4,856 individuals living with the virus.

A study by the UK Medical Research Council found that Truvada reduced the risk of new HIV infections by 86%.

In global studies it is a highly effective prevention initiative - George Valiotis

Valiotis added: “It is important because the number of new infections have not gone down, in fact they look like they are going up so we need something else. We think now is the time to introduce it to Scotland.”

Sheena McCormack, chief investigator of the study and professor of clinical epidemiology at University College London, said the drug had been “profoundly effective”, especially among high risk groups.

“It’s about prevention, but it’s profoundly effective,” she said. “If it was a vaccine we’d be rolling it out across the world and we’d be finding a way to do that.

“It’s a life changing drug because you can’t underestimate the spectre of HIV that hangs over every gay man.

“However liberated we are that still hangs around and it really colours the quality of sex for gay men, so I think it is an amazing thing, which I really hope is going to help people make better sexual relationships.”