Studer Community Institute

HIV expert to speak about 99 percent effective prevention drug in Pensacola

April 10, 2015
/ Louis Cooper
/ civiccon

A global leader in HIV prevention will be in Pensacola on Monday to lead a forum on new drug therapies that have been proven to help prevent infection by the virus that causes AIDS. Dr. Kenneth H. Mayer, director of medical research and co-chairman of the Fenway Institute, is set to speak at 2 p.m. Monday at the Bowden Building, located at 120 Church St. in downtown Pensacola. Mayer will be speaking about pre-exposure prophylaxis, commonly called PrEP; post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, and non-occupational post-exposure prophylaxis, known as nPEP. Based in Boston, the Fenway Institute is dedicated to ensuring access to quality medical and mental health care for underserved communities like lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and those affected by HIV/AIDS. The forum is sponsored by OASIS – Okaloosa AIDS Support and Information Services – along with the Florida Department of Health, HIV Evolution, the North Florida AIDS/HIV Consortium and the Red Ribbon Charitable Foundation. In addition to Okaloosa County, OASIS also serves Escambia, Santa Rosa and Walton counties. “This is about education and empowerment on a new method to prevent HIV infection for those who are most at risk,” said OASIS Executive Director Butch McKay. “The biggest and most exciting aspect of utilizing all HIV prevention methods that are available to us is that we can actually reach that ‘tipping point’ where the rate of new HIV infections starts declining in our local HIV epidemic.” In Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties, 66 percent of men with HIV/AIDS are believed to have contracted the virus through sex with men, according to the Health Department. Among women with HIV/AIDS, 84 percent contracted the virus through heterosexual contact. [sidebar] More about Truvada Here is a video that talks more about how PrEP works: https://youtu.be/ueKrjO6rAyE [/sidebar] Much of Mayer’s discussion will likely focus on a drug called Truvada, the only PrEP drug approved by the Food & Drug Administration. Debuting use in 2012, Truvada has been shown to be 99 percent effective in preventing HIV infection among those who took the drug every day. “There are people in the community already availing themselves of this new protection, however, there are many more who are unaware that it is available,” McKay said. “PrEP is in stock at most big name pharmacies.” CVS keeps Truvada in stock because it is the pharmacy benefits manager for the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Plan, he said. It is also usually available locally at the AIDS Healthcare Pharmacy and Thrif-T Drugs. Pharmacies that don't keep Truvada in stock can order and receive it within two business days. Truvada can be expensive, $8,000 and $14,000 per year, but McKay said most prescription insurance plans cover it. Gilead, the drug’s manufacturer, offers a discount program for the poor and uninsured. “Currently in Pensacola, PrEP is mainly provided by an infectious disease specialist,” McKay said. “However the CDC advises that PrEP can be provided by general practitioners, as well, for easier accessibility.” Mayer has been involved in HIV/AIDS research since the earliest days of the epidemic, diagnosing some of the first HIV cases in New England. He also serves as professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School; a professor in the Department of Global Health and Population at the Harvard School of Public Health; director of HIV Prevention Research and Attending Physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; and adjunct professor of medicine and Community Health at Brown University.

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HIV expert to speak about 99 percent effective prevention drug in Pensacola

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