The French PrEP trial ANRS IPERGAY announced today that trial participants on the placebo arm of its study should be immediately offered PrEP because they had found 'a very significant reduction in the risk of HIV infection in the on demand PrEP group'.  This comes two weeks after the announcement by the PROUD trial in the UK that participants in the 'deferred PrEP arm' would be immediately offered PrEP because of the significant protective effect for those taking it.

The ANRS IPERGAY trial is important because unlike the PROUD trial, which involved taking PrEP daily, it involves instead taking PrEP only 'on demand' i.e at the time of sexual intercourse.

Yusef Azad, Director of Policy and Campaigns, said, 'This announcement from the ANRS IPERGAY trial is another exciting piece of news  in the growing and powerful evidence base on the effectiveness of PrEP.  It is especially important if it suggests that PrEP might work well when taken only around the time of sex rather than daily - that could be good news for costs.  We will now need to look at how such 'intermittent PrEP' works in a 'real life' setting rather than a placebo-controlled trial.  This news adds to the urgency of the NHS deciding how to introduce PrEP effectively to reduce the current record numbers of gay and bisexual men, and others at high risk, being diagnosed with HIV in the UK.'