People in England and Wales will soon have access to a long-acting injectable HIV prevention treatment for the first time. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which provides guidance on new drugs, has recommended the jab for adults and young people at high risk of HIV who are unable to take oral medications.
The drug, cabotegravir, is administered once every two months and is a form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). It works by preventing the HIV virus from replicating and spreading in the body, thereby reducing the risk of infection among both adults and adolescents.
According to the United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA), over 111,000 people in England accessed PrEP through sexual health clinics in 2024. NICE estimates that up to 1,000 people annually could benefit from cabotegravir’s availability via the National Health Service (NHS) in England, with rollout expected in the coming months.
“Today's recommendation for cabotegravir marks a significant milestone – this is the first injectable HIV prevention treatment that is available to patients,” said Helen Knight, NICE’s Director of Medicines Evaluation.
Cabotegravir differs from another promising HIV prevention jab, lenacapavir, which has been hailed as a major breakthrough. Lenacapavir demonstrated high efficacy in clinical trials and requires administration only twice a year. Regulators in the European Union and the United States approved lenacapavir earlier this year, which could accelerate the UK’s regulatory review once the manufacturer, Gilead, applies for approval.
In wealthier countries, a yearly course of lenacapavir is priced at over $28,000 (approximately €24,000) per person, according to the medical access group Unitaid. Last month, Unitaid announced plans to produce a lower-cost generic version of the lenacapavir jab, which will be made available in 120 low- and middle-income countries starting in 2027.
The introduction of cabotegravir represents a significant step forward in HIV prevention in the UK, offering an alternative for those who cannot adhere to daily oral PrEP and further expanding options to reduce new infections across the population.