Injectable PrEP Can Prevent 87% More New HIV Cases Than Oral Pills

PrEP: Pill or Injection?

An updated report issued by the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute regarding the gradual uptake of long-acting PrEP concluded that the number of HIV cases averted would be 87 percent higher compared to using only daily oral PrEP, not only increasing health rates but also saving $4.25 billion in medical costs over 10 years.

A previous report performed by RTI International (a nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition) calculated the number of averted HIV cases based on oral PrEP only. Newly released calculations by the same institute regard the incidence of HIV using both oral PrEP and new long-acting PrEP.

The revised numbers of averted cases over ten years are 139,296 individuals as compared to 74,540 people under the previous report. The 87 percent increase is mainly attributed to people remembering to take PrEP every day as compared to adhering to regular injections.

That being said, an alarming amount of Americans who need to are still not taking PrEP. The CDC reports that out of 1.2 million Americans who need it, only 36 percent are actually taking it. There is an additional disparity when it comes to ethnic demographics. Only 13 percent of the Black community and only 24 percent of the Latino community who should be on it are not taking it, as compared to a 94 percent usage rate among the white population. Also, only 13 percent of suggested female individuals are taking it.

 

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Injection PrEP is expected to increase to 20 percent usage over five years, and 80 percent usage over ten years. In 2019, Descovy was added as a PrEP option, and the first injectable PrEP, Apretude, became available in 2022.

According to the CDC, PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99 percent and reduces the risk of getting HIV from injection drug use by at least 74 percent. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first approved PrEP in 2012. In 2014, the CDC released guidelines regarding taking the drug. From 2014 to 2017, PrEP use went from 6 to 35 percent showing declines in HIV cases among major cities in the US, including a 47 percent decrease in San Francisco.