A long-acting injection to prevent HIV is set to be approved for use in England and Wales, offering a major new alternative to daily pills currently used for protection against the virus.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has recommended cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for adults and young people at risk of HIV who are unable to take oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The injection, administered every two months, is already available on the NHS in Scotland.
Health secretary Wes Streeting called the approval “gamechanging.” He said, “For vulnerable people who are unable to take other methods of HIV prevention, this represents hope. England will be the first country to end HIV transmissions by 2030, and this breakthrough is another powerful tool to reach that goal.”
The rollout is expected to begin about three months after Nice issues its final guidance later this year.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, more than 111,000 people accessed PrEP through sexual health clinics in England in 2024 — a 7% rise from the previous year.
Helen Knight, Nice’s director of medicines evaluation, said HIV “remains a serious public health challenge,” but cabotegravir provides an “effective option” for about 1,000 people in England who cannot take daily oral PrEP due to medical or practical barriers.
Up to 1,000 people are expected to benefit from the new injection each year once it becomes available.
