NHS England confirms extension of HIV prevention programme

NHS England has confirmed that it will fund a major extension to Public Health England's national HIV prevention programme.

This follows the recent Court of Appeal ruling that NHS England, alongside local authorities, has the power, although not the obligation, to fund the provision of antiretroviral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drugs for HIV.

Under the expanded scheme, NHS England and Public Health England will routinely commission ten new specialised treatments as part of the annual prioritisation process.

The first phase of implementation will be marked by the launch of a large-scale clinical trial early in 2017-18 to determine the best way of implementing PrEP distribution in the most effective way possible.

At least 10,000 participants will be included over the next three years, with drug manufacturers now being asked to submit treatments for use in the trial.

Professor Kevin Fenton, director of health and wellbeing at Public Health England, said: "Given we are in the fourth decade of this epidemic, there are too many new infections occurring, and we need to use all tools available to save lives and money."

With over 20 years of experience within the medical devices market, we at Zenopa have the knowledge, skills and expertise to help find the right job for you. To find out more about the current medical device roles we have available, you can search for the latest job roles, register your details, or contact the team today.