Options for affordable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in national HIV prevention programmes in Europe

The successful integration of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) into comprehensive HIV programmes that include increased testing, the offer of early treatment for infected individuals and combination HIV prevention, is showing signs of contributing to a reduction in new HIV infections [1,2]. Such programmes can enable and motivate people with a high risk of HIV infection to come for testing, encourage those who test negative to consider PrEP, support their effective adherence and deliver collateral benefits such as increased screening and treatment of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) [1,3]. This promising evidence, in the context of stagnant or rising incidence of HIV in many European countries [4], has naturally led to intensifying demand for inexpensive and broader provision of PrEP [5].