The preventive drug PrEP, which can stop an HIV infection before it breaks out, has been approved in Sweden since 2016. The drug is available in all regions of Sweden, and this autumn the largest study to date on the drug in Sweden, conducted by Venhälsan on Södersjukhuset. The study shows that the drug works and that it has led to a sharp reduction in new cases of HIV, explains Finn Filén, senior physician at Venhälsan.
– We have used this medicine for five years and we already know that this works, it is a total success, he says.
The medicine, which is a combination tablet of two previously established HIV medicines, is taken for preventive purposes by those who are at greater risk of contracting HIV, Filén explains.
– In Sweden, it is primarily men who have sex with men, who have many sexual partners, and have a history of having contracted other infections in the past, he says.
Good results
At Venhälsan, PrEP has been used since 2018 – with very good results.
– With us, in our internal statistics, the number of new infections has decreased year by year since we started with PrEP, and we believe there is a connection, of course. For many years we had about 50 new HIV diagnoses per year, since we started in 2018 it has decreased to about 10-15 new ones per year.
According to Filén, it has long been known that PrEP is not a dangerous medicine, but in the study they wanted to look at how it affects the body, especially the kidneys.
– What we have come to the conclusion is that it is a kind medicine. It works superbly and there are very few who need to discontinue it due to side effects.
Great need of
Until recently, Venhälsan was the only practice in Stockholm that received the medicine assigned by Region Stockholm with the specific task of doing this study. But now the specialist center for sexual health at Karolinska hospital, in Huddinge, has also been given the same mission. They will start with it in the near future – something Filén is happy about, because the demand is great.
– It was very popular from the beginning and we got a waiting list which we managed to eliminate, but then it has become a waiting list again and we simply haven’t had time, he says.
Filén explains that Venhälsan in no way owns either the concept or the preparation and he would like to see it become available to as many people as possible.
– What we have been able to show with the study is that this is not particularly complicated or dangerous. We think this should be part of the sexual health package for everyone who wishes to have this protection. Under the conditions that you come for regular return visits every three months and check that you are still HIV negative. And have not contracted any other infections that you risk spreading to others, he says.