Meeting report

Planning for pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV transmission: challenges and opportunities

Susan C Kim¹ , Stephen Becker² , Carl Dieffenbach³ , Blair S Hanewall² , Catherine Hankins⁴ , Ying-Ru Lo⁵ , John W Mellors⁶ , Kevin O'Reilly⁵ , Lynn Paxton⁷ , Jason S Roffenbender¹ , Mitchell Warren⁸ , Peter Piot⁹ and Mark R Dybul^1,10

¹  O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA

²  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington, USA

³  National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Washington DC, USA

⁴  Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Geneva, Switzerland

⁵  World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

⁶  University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA

⁷  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Washington DC, USA

⁸  AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, New York, USA

⁹  Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, London, UK

¹⁰  George W Bush Institute, Dallas, TX, USA

author email corresponding author email

Journal of the International AIDS Society 2010, 13:24doi:10.1186/1758-2652-13-24

Published:	12 July 2010

Abstract

There are currently several ongoing or planned trials evaluating the efficacy of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as a preventative approach to reducing the transmission of HIV. PrEP may prove ineffective, demonstrate partial efficacy, or show high efficacy and have the potential to reduce HIV infection in a significant way. However, in addition to the trial results, it is important that issues related to delivery, implementation and further research are also discussed. As a part of the ongoing discussion, in June 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation sponsored a Planning for PrEP conference with stakeholders to review expected trial results, outline responsible educational approaches, and develop potential delivery and implementation strategies. The conference reinforced the need for continued and sustained dialogue to identify where PrEP implementation may fit best within an integrated HIV prevention package. This paper identifies the key action points that emerged from the Planning for PrEP meeting.