Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)

What is PrEP?

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is medicine taken to prevent getting HIV. PrEP is highly effective for preventing HIV when taken as prescribed. The word “prophylaxis” means to prevent or control the spread of an infection or disease. The goal of PrEP is to prevent an HIV-negative person from acquiring HIV from an HIV-positive partner. PrEP also works to prevent the spread of HIV through injection drug use. When taken as prescribed, PrEP has been found to reduce the likelihood of HIV infection by up to 90%. This effectiveness increases when combined with condoms, which are also necessary for the prevention of other sexually transmitted infections.

• PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99%.
• PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from injection drug use by at least 74%.

PrEP is less effective when it isn't taken as prescribed. Since PrEP only protects against HIV, using condoms is still important for the protection against other sexually transmitted infections. Condoms are also important to help prevent HIV when PrEP isn't taken as prescribed.

Currently, there are two FDA-approved daily oral medications for PrEP. There are also two FDA-approved long-acting injectable forms of PrEP, one that is administered every other month and the other is administered twice yearly.