An incredibly effective HIV prevention drug looks likely to be approved for federal subsidy this week, slashing the price from close to $10,000 a year to only $474.

The federal health minister, Greg Hunt, has promised that PrEP (Pre-exposure prophylaxis) – a daily preventative drug that reduces the risk of HIV infection by up to 99% – will be added to Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) if the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommends it.

PBS listing would bring the price of PrEP , which is sold in Australia under the brand name Truvada, down to $39.50 for a monthly prescription. Truvada currently costs an estimated $850 a month, while cheaper, generic brands of PrEP cost $130 a month through private import.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee will release its decision on Friday but, on Thursday, Fairfax Media reported that a positive recommendation for PrEP was “almost certain”.



If that happens, Hunt has given a commitment to list PrEP on the PBS.



PrEP is an antiretroviral drug to be taken by those at high risk of HIV infection. Among gay and bisexual men, it has an efficacy of rate of 99% if used every day. It does not prevent other STIs and the Australian Federation of Aids Organisations recommends it be used in addition to condoms.



Truvada was approved by the Therapeutic Goods Association in May 2016, meaning that any doctor could prescribe it, but, until now, consumers were forced to pay retail prices, or import the drug themselves.



However, the maximum patient contribution for a PBS-listed drug is $39.50, or $6.50 for a concession card holder. Each Truvada prescription lasts one month.



Darryl O’Donnell, the chief executive of the Australian Federation of Aids Organisations (AFAO), said improving access to PrEP, especially in migrant and Indigenous communities, was now the next step.

“PrEP will make a huge difference but it only helps if it its in the hands of people who can benefit from it,” he said. “There are populations, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities, who don’t have the same kind of health service access to come forward and ask about PrEP. [PBS listing] needs to be accompanied by health promotion, outreach and educating doctors and pharmacists in prescribing it.

“There’s still a lot of stigma associated with HIV and a lot of people feel reluctant to talk to a doctor or disclose they are a person with HIV.”

According to the University of New South Wales annual survey, an estimated 26,000 Australians live with HIV as of 2016. The rate of HIV notifications has dropped over the past five years, except in Aboriginal and Torres populations, where it has increased.

The annual number of Aids diagnoses has also declined rapidly since 1994, due to the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in preventing Aids from developing. It has not been a notifiable disease since 2010 and is no longer considered a public health issue.

A spokeswoman for the health department told Guardian Australia that the advisory committee had already discussed PrEP at a special meeting on 15 December last year but would not release the decision until tomorrow.

All Australian states and territories have a goal of ending new HIV infections by 2020.



Since TGA approval, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland implemented free trials of PrEP for roughly 13,000 Australians.

It has 84% efficacy for heterosexual men and women and 70% efficacy for people who inject drugs. The AFAO says it is not a substitute for established harm reduction measures such as needle and syringe exchanges.