A long-acting HIV prevention injection is set to be approved for use in England and Wales, offering a major new alternative to daily pills used to protect against the virus.
The treatment, cabotegravir (CAB-LA), is administered once every two months and provides pre-exposure prophylaxis (Prep) for people at risk of HIV who are unable to take oral medication. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommended the jab in draft guidance published on Friday.
Already available on the NHS in Scotland, the injection is expected to roll out in England and Wales about three months after final approval later this year.
Health secretary Wes Streeting hailed the move as “gamechanging.” He said: “For vulnerable people who are unable to take other methods of HIV prevention, this represents hope. England will be the first country to end HIV transmissions by 2030, and this breakthrough treatment is another powerful tool in our arsenal.”
More than 111,000 people accessed Prep in England in 2024 — a 7% rise from the previous year, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
Helen Knight, Nice’s director of medicines evaluation, said HIV “remains a serious public health challenge, but we now have powerful tools to prevent new infections.”
Nice estimates that up to 1,000 people in England each year will benefit from the new treatment once it becomes available.
