A long-acting injection to prevent HIV is set to be approved for use in England and Wales, offering a new alternative to daily prevention pills.
The treatment, called cabotegravir (CAB-LA), is administered every two months and is designed for adults and young people at risk of HIV who cannot take oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended the jab in new draft guidance published on Friday.
Already available on the NHS in Scotland, the injection is being hailed as a major breakthrough in HIV prevention. Health secretary Wes Streeting called the approval “gamechanging,” saying, “For vulnerable people 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 treatment is another powerful tool to reach that goal.”
The rollout is expected to begin about three months after NICE publishes its final guidance later this year.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, more than 111,000 people accessed PrEP in England in 2024 — a 7% increase from the previous year. NICE estimates that up to 1,000 people annually will benefit from the new injection.
“HIV remains a serious public health challenge, but we now have powerful tools to prevent new infections,” said Helen Knight, NICE’s director of medicines evaluation. “This injection offers an effective option for those who can’t use daily PrEP.”
