For media inquiries contact Michael Chancley at Michael@PrEP4All.org

Friday, July 26th, 2024– PrEP4All, AVAC, and HIVMA support the decision made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) to halt new enrollments in the Ready, Set, PrEP (RSP) program on July 30th but continue to provide access to the small number of individuals currently receiving PrEP via the initiative. HHS created RSP in 2020 with the ambitious goal of expanding PrEP access by up to 200,000 individuals per year with the drug donated from Gilead Sciences. While limited data has been released on RSP enrollment, we estimate that fewer than 10,000 individuals have been enrolled since the program was created.

Only 36% of the 1.2 million people who could benefit from PrEP are prescribed it. Communities need a comprehensive program now more than ever; inequities continue to worsen in PrEP access, threatening our national commitment to end HIV as an epidemic for every impacted community in America.

In a May 2024 meeting with HHS, our organizations called for RSP to sunset to clear the pathway for a National PrEP Program (NPP) as envisioned by President Biden and community advocates over the past three years. For over two years advocates have asked HHS to clarify if Gilead’s drug donation could be modified into a more comprehensive and effective program. In our meeting, we advocated for the millions of federal dollars spent administering RSP, which mirrors other manufacturer assistance programs offering free or low cost products, to be redirected to invest in a holistic and effective NPP that will create an integrated system of care for PrEP medications, labs, and provider visits.

With generic competition dropping the price of PrEP to less than $20 a month, there’s no reason to limit a program by tying it to one manufacturer. We can– with reasonable investment– do so much more by covering all PrEP costs and still have funding left over for community PrEP distribution (including tele-PrEP), community-driven demand creation campaigns, provider education, and any number of other innovations to drive access and towards a vision of ending HIV nationally.

The sunsetting of RSP is timely; as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention prepares to release a funding announcement for a pilot for a National PrEP Program. With the sunsetting of RSP, CDC now has the ability to set a new standard in PrEP access; one that fully leverages the power of highly affordable generic medications and sets the stage for equitable access to long-acting injectable formulations.

We thank HHS for listening to our request and urge the department to continue to work closely with community advocates in ensuring the CDC pilot program’s successful implementation.