Last year, the Court of Appeal issued its ruling that NHS England has the authority to fund pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) – this was after the latter had declined to make PrEP available on the NHS, arguing that HIV prevention was the responsibility of local government.1,2

To many, this ruling will be seen as logical: PrEP, using a combination of emtricitabine and tenofovir (Truvada), is highly effective in preventing HIV infection, with clinical trials showing an 86% reduction in risk of acquiring HIV in men who have sex with men and a number-needed-to-treat between 13 …