Aifa has postponed the decision on the free use of PrEP, an anti-HIV drug, but it is not clear why it was postponed. The associations have launched a petition, asking for clarification from the Minister of Health Schillaci.
Aifa has blocked the path for free PrEP, a drug that protects against HIV infection. The tablet, if taken before and after an infection-risk event, such as sexual intercourse without a condom or shared use of syringes, creates a sort of barrier, preventing you from contracting the virus.
The topic of drug reimbursement came to the head office for the first time Pricing and reimbursement committee of the Italian Medicines Agency, whose task is to define the purchase price of the drug by our Health Service, to then be negotiated with the manufacturing companies. But the decisive step was missing: the suspension was established last Thursday 23 March by the Price and Reimbursement Committee of the Italian Medicines Agency.
The Aifa Technical-Scientific Commissionwhich certifies safety, indications for use and reimbursement of medicines, had in fact already given its go-ahead and it is not clear why the free pill was stopped.
The form of prevention par excellence against HIV is always the condom, but it has been shown that this drug is just as effective in negative people as protection. “In Africa, the category most at risk of contracting HIV is precisely young women, and they are vulnerable people who do not have the possibility of requiring a condom during sexual intercourse. Even here in Italy, still today many women who come to the test they tell us that they would have liked to use a condom, but their partner didn’t want to. So PrEP is an extra tool,” he explained in an interview with Fanpage.it Valeria CalvinoVice President of Anlaids,
The point is that at the moment in Italy the pill is not passed by the National Health Service: in pharmacies a pack of 30 tablets costs about 60 euros.
How does it work PrEP
The name stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis. Approved since 2012 of the Fda, Food and Drug Administration statunitenseand in 2016 fromEma, European Medicines Agencythe PrEP consists of taking tablets, before and after exposure to the risk of contracting HIV. Composed of Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and Emtricitabine, the drug has already been used for some time to control HIV, so its tolerability, safety and efficacy are well known.
If the medical indications are respected, prophylaxis offers almost 100% protection from infection: this is certified by all international health agencies, such as the WHO or the UN, who recommend promoting access to PrEP as much as possible and this is demonstrated by the data from the countries where it is reimbursable (among them: France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom and many others).
The petition of the associations: “Schilla let us clarify”
Associations and communities dealing with the fight against HIV and the rights of LGBTQIA+ people have launched a petition on change.org: “AIFA’s decision to postpone the green light for free PrEP, the very effective pre-exposure prophylaxis that prevents HIV, right in the last authorization step, is serious and unacceptable for a country like ours , which has signed up to the UN commitment to defeat AIDS by 2030. This stop, after others nothing done by Aifa and the Ministry of Health, confirms that Italy is one of the most backward Western countries and obscurantists on the HIV prevention front and one of the few in advanced welfare who does not dispense this drug for free”, reads the appeal (signed by Anlaids, Arcigay, Arcobaleno AIDS, ASA, Bergamo Fast-Track City, CEST, CICA, CNCA, White Rabbits, LILA, Mario Mieli, Milano Checkpoint, Nadir, NPS, NUDI, Plus, I Ragazzi della Panchina, T Genus).
Non-gratuity “constitutes an insurmountable barrier for younger and more socially vulnerable people”, say the associations, who therefore denounce “the violation of the right to health and underline how the lack of access to PrEP” which “will cause hundreds of new infections that could be prevented” resulting in “life-long human, social and health costs of HIV control treatments”.
We ask Aifa “to proceed immediately with the green light, hoping that this postponement has not been influenced by the renewal of bodies and offices or by the changed political climate”. The associations are asking the Minister of Health Schillaci “to clarify what happened”.
Calvino (Anlaids): “PrEP is crucial if we want to defeat the virus”
“We strongly reiterate that Prep is an important HIV prevention tool, recommended by the main international agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). And if we want really defeat the virus, it must be made available to everyone,” Valeria Calvino, vice president of Anlaids and member of the Technical Health Committee section M of the Ministry of Health, dedicated to pathologies such as HIV, told beraking latest news Salute.
“We know that the discussion on the reimbursement of the Prep was on the Aifa agenda for March 20-22. We don’t know why the decision was not successful. In any case, we strongly reiterate” the importance of this tool, “if we really want to defeat the virus,” he added.