Amsterdam’s health board is beginning trials of a drug thought to reduce the risk of people who are exposed to HIV developing the disease.

PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) involves an anti-retroviral drug that can be taken by an HIV-negative person before potential HIV exposure. The Amsterdam health board will run the trial using 370 gay man and transgenders with a high risk of catching HIV over a three-year period.

‘International research shows PrEP is highly effective,’ project leader Elske Hoornenborg told the Parool. ‘Where it has been used the number of new HIV infections fell by 86%.’

This is the first time PrEP has been researched in the Netherlands.