A US survey of the prescribing of Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) to HIV-negative people as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has found that, when participants in clinical trials and demonstration projects are excluded, PrEP recipients are more likely to live in the southern states and are more likely to be female than people receiving Truvada for HIV treatment.
It found that prescriptions for PrEP represented perhaps 1% of all Truvada prescriptions, though use has grown slowly. However, the majority of PrEP in the US is still being prescribed in the context of clinical trials: this survey represents prescribing outside trials, by individual doctors in a variety of healthcare settings.
In addition, the survey only acquired prescription information from 55% of all US pharmacies, so the true figure for PrEP prescriptions will be somewhat higher.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Truvada as PrEP in July 2012. Although, so far at least, its use has only grown slowly, it began to gather speed even before the FDA approval. The survey found prescriptions for PrEP made out to 150 individuals in 2011.
In 2012, Truvada PrEP was prescribed to 1274 individuals, but only slightly more than half of these (681) were prescribed after the FDA approval. In the first quarter of 2013, 350 more individuals were prescribed PrEP, implying a total of at least 2000 for the whole year. However, with Truvada being one of the most frequently prescribed antiretroviral drugs for HIV treatment, this probably only represents 1-2%, at most, of Truvada prescribing in the US.
