PrEP to be made available in Ireland from Dec 4th 2017 (High costs users)

[Jim Allen]

Up until recently PrEP was not available in Ireland, and people wanting to use PrEP  sourcing it online, had Irish Customs seizing any shipments of generic PrEP that it could find. 

From Monday dec 4th following continued pressure from lobbyist, doctors, the NGO and ACT-UP Dublin who did a tremendous amount of effort , PrEP will be available.  However there is a "but" to this story, no government funding meaning the costs though official channels of branded PrEP will be 400 Euro per month (475 USD) or generic brand at 100 euro per month (118 USD). This compared to the online "illegal to import" version that puts you back +- 40 euro per month (47 USD)

 

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/anti-hiv-drug-to-be-made-available-in-ireland-from-monday-1.3312046

A generic version of the medication will be available in pharmacies from next week. The cost of PrEP is not covered by the HSE, and currently it can be obtained privately with a doctor’s prescription at a cost of € 400 a month. The cost of the generic drug, made by Teva Pharmaceuticals, is expected to be under €100 per month.

https://www.facebook.com/ACTUPDublin/posts/2014146242163115

Many of you may have seen this tweet or the report about it in the Irish Times. We wanted to clarify a few important things:

• Teva (a generic pharmaceutical company) will begin selling their PrEP product on Monday. It's expected to cost around €100 for a 30-day supply.
• This does not mean PrEP will be available through HSE.
• This has nothing to do with anything the Taoiseach has done, nor with the Department of Health or the HSE.

We're frankly dismayed that this brief, misleading tweet appears to be the Taoiseach's only statement on World AIDS Day.
Yes, technically Teva's PrEP will be available in Ireland on Monday—for those who can pay €100+ a month.

But is that what most people understand when they see "PrEP will be available in Ireland"? Without any further tweets to clarify how limited the availability will be?

What a cynical way to mark World AIDS Day.