"We are greatly encouraged by the important step forward represented by the iPrEx study findings on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for HIV prevention. PrEP has the potential to be a critical addition to our prevention arsenal, particularly for populations at high risk of HIV infection. We congratulate our colleagues at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on this impressive result.
"We look forward to the additional steps that need to take place before the world can begin using this ARV-based PrEP. Several other ongoing trials will provide us with critical information. Key questions will include protection for women, appropriate dosing, resistance and side effects, safety with long-term use, and its impact on future treatment options among users who acquire HIV. As a supporter of program implementation, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will await the development of normative guidance on PrEP by the World Health Organization and others. While that process continues, however, we will continue our own process to consider the wide range of policy, ethical, cost and other considerations that PrEP will raise, so that we will be ready to provide guidance to our programs at the appropriate time.
"Prevention is the most fundamental challenge in the fight against AIDS. We all must welcome innovation to improve the impact of our prevention programs and save more lives. As we work every day to determine how each dollar invested through PEPFAR can produce the greatest results in terms of lives improved and saved, we look forward to exploring the potential of PrEP."
The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the U.S. Government initiative to help save the lives of those suffering from HIV/AIDS around the world. This historic commitment is the largest by any nation to combat a single disease internationally, and PEPFAR investments also help alleviate suffering from other diseases across the global health spectrum. PEPFAR is driven by a shared responsibility among donor and partner nations and others to make smart investments to save lives. For more information, please visit www.PEPFAR.gov, http://twitter.com/uspepfar, or www.facebook.com/PEPFAR.
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