The BusinessWeek 50 Ranking
47
Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences has built an emerging biotech brand with its HIV treatments. Sales passed the $1 billion mark for the first time last year, and unlike so many other biotechs, Gilead has turned its losses into a profit. The Foster City (Calif.) company boasts one of the best net margins in the drug sector: 33.9%. Now, Gilead is set to push further into the $6 billion HIV market. The European Commission approved Truvada, Gilead's once-a-day treatment that combines its existing drugs Emtriva and Viread. Viread alone upped sales by 38% in 2004, helping to boost the HIV drug's sales to $908.4 million last year, up from $576.5 million in 2003. For an encore Gilead is teaming up with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) to combine Gilead's Truvada with Bristol's Sustiva Profile: the first time patients will be able to take one daily pill, not six, for their complete regimen. But the company will have to keep innovating to fend off competition in the Hepatitis B market. In March an FDA panel praised the efficacy of Baraclude, an emerging Bristol-Myers Squibb rival to Gilead's Hepsera.
Company Info
| 2004 Rank | NR |
| STOCK INFO | GILD |
| Market Value | $14.9 BILLION |
| Total Return | (1-yr.) 27.3%
(3-yr.) 96.1% |
| 2004 sales | $1.3 BILLION |
| Sales Growth | (1-yr.) 53%
(3-yr.) 79.0% |
| Net income | $449.4 MILLION |
| Net Income Growth | (1-yr.) NM
(3-yr.) 112.0% |
| Net Margin* | 33.9% |
| Return on Equity* | 24.0% |
| Industry | DRUGS & BIOTECH |
| CORPORATE WEB SITE | |
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*Trailing 12 months
Company data as of 2/28/05 provided by Standard & Poor's Compustat
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Company Snapshot
Gilead Sciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for serious diseases. The company’s research and clinical programs focus on anti-infectives, including antivirals and antifungals. The company’s products include Viread, which is used in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV infection; Emtriva, for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV infection in adults; AmBisome, which is used for the treatment of serious fungal infections; Hepsera, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B; Tamiflu, for the prevention and treatment of influenza; Vistide, for the treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis in patients with AIDS; and DaunoXome, which is used for the treatment of AIDS-related Kaposi’s sarcoma. The company’s product pipe line includes emtricitabine for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, which is in phase III clinical trials, as well as GS 7340 for the treatment of HIV infection, which is in phase II clinical trials. It offers its products primarily in the United States, Europe, and Australia through its commercial teams and independent distributors. The company has collaborative relationships with Archemix Corporation, EyeTech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Japan Tobacco, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd., and Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. Gilead Sciences was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Foster City, California.
No. of Employees
NA
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