Gilead Sciences Value Stock - Dividend - Research Selection

Description of the company

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead, we or us), incorporated in Delaware on June 22, 1987, is a research-based biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative medicines in areas of unmet medical need. With each new discovery and investigational drug candidate, we strive to transform and simplify care for people with life-threatening illnesses around the world. We have operations in more than 30 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California. Gilead’s primary areas of focus include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, hematology/oncology, cardiovascular and inflammation/respiratory diseases. We seek to add to our existing portfolio of products through our internal discovery and clinical development programs and through product acquisition and in-licensing strategies.

Over the past year, we continued to bring best-in-class drugs to market that advance the standard of care by offering enhanced modes of delivery, more convenient treatment regimens, improved resistance profiles, reduced side effects and greater efficacy. In the area of HIV, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Commission approved two tenofovir alafenamide (TAF)-based regimens: Odefsey® (emtricitabine 200 mg/rilpivirine 25 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in certain patients and Descovy® (emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg), a fixed-dose combination for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. In the liver diseases area, we received FDA and European Commission approval of Epclusa® (sofosbuvir 400 mg/velpatasvir 100 mg), the first all-oral, pan-genotypic, single-tablet regimen for the treatment of adults with genotype 1-6 chronic HCV infection. Epclusa is also the first single-tablet regimen approved for the treatment of patients with HCV genotype 2 and 3, without the need for ribavirin. We also received FDA approval of Vemlidy® (tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg), a once-daily treatment for adults with HBV infection with compensated liver disease. In the inflammation/respiratory area, we advanced filgotinib, a JAK1 inhibitor we are developing with Galapagos NV (Galapagos) to Phase 3 clinical trials for the potential treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. At the end of 2016, our research and development pipeline included 167 active clinical studies, of which 61 were Phase 3 clinical trials.

In addition to advancing treatment options across therapeutic areas, we also enabled access to our medications for people who need them around the world. We continued to expand access to our medicines in low- and middle-income countries by pursuing multiple strategies, including entering into collaborations with governments, generic manufacturers, regional business partners, policy makers, healthcare providers, patient groups and public health entities. Today, 10 million people are receiving Gilead HIV medicines in low- and middle-income countries. In 2016, we also entered into a partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide $20 million in funding and drug donations over five years to expand access to diagnostic services and treatment for visceral leishmaniasis, the world’s second-deadliest parasitic infectious disease that affects up to 300,000 people annually in resource-limited countries.

Our goal is to ensure that all HIV patients can choose a single-tablet regimen that is right for them. Single-tablet regimens allow patients to adhere to a fully suppressive course of therapy more easily and consistently, which is critical for the successful management of the disease. HIV patients are living longer, thus facing additional health challenges to those experienced by newly diagnosed patients. We are motivated to continue improving on existing treatment options. The need for efficacy together with improved long-term safety has driven our development programs and the design of the studies we have completed and those that are planned.

Our TAF single-tablet regimens seek to address the diverse needs of HIV patients worldwide. TAF is a novel targeted prodrug of tenofovir that has demonstrated high antiviral efficacy similar to and at a dose less than one-tenth that of Viread® (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, TDF), as well as improvement in surrogate laboratory markers of renal and bone safety as compared to TDF in clinical trials in combination with other antiretroviral agents. With the launch of our two TAF-based single-tablet regimens, Genvoya® (elvitegravir 150mg/cobicistat 150 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir alafenamide 10 mg) and Odefsey, we now have five single-tablet regimens available for the treatment of HIV. Odefsey is currently the smallest pill of any single-tablet regimen for the treatment of HIV. Descovy, a fixed-dose combination for the treatment of HIV, also represents an important evolution in HIV care, as it is the first new HIV treatment backbone approved by FDA in more than a decade.

In addition, we are evaluating bictegravir/emtricitabine/TAF in Phase 3 studies for the treatment of HIV. We anticipate completing these studies in the third quarter of 2017.

Our goal is to advance the treatment options and standard of care for the HCV market. With the approval of Sovaldi® (sofosbuvir 400 mg), compared to the prior standard of care of up to 48 weeks, the duration of treatment was shortened to as few as 12 weeks and the need for peg-interferon injections in certain viral genotype populations was reduced or eliminated completely. Harvoni® (ledipasvir 90 mg/sofosbuvir 400 mg) is the first once-daily single-tablet regimen for the treatment of HCV genotype 1-infected patients, the most prevalent genotype in the United States. In 2016, we received approval of Epclusa, the first all-oral, pan-genotypic, single-tablet regimen for the treatment of adults with genotype 1-6 chronic HCV infection. Epclusa is also the first single-tablet regimen approved for the treatment of patients with HCV genotype 2 and 3, without the need for ribavirin. In the fourth quarter of 2016, we submitted a new drug application to FDA for the approval of an investigational, once-daily, single-tablet regimen containing sofosbuvir 400 mg, velpatasvir 100 mg and voxilaprevir 100 mg (SOF/VEL/VOX), for the treatment of HCV. The product, if approved, would offer an effective cure for patients who have failed prior therapy with other highly effective regimens.

In 2016, we received FDA approval of Vemlidy, a once-daily treatment for adults with HBV infection with compensated liver disease.

We are also evaluating selonsertib, an investigational small-molecule inhibitor of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1, or ASK-1, for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in Phase 3 clinical trials. Based on the Phase 2 results, we intend to evaluate selonsertib in patients with NASH and moderate to severe fibrosis. We have two other compounds with different mechanisms currently in two Phase 2 studies in patients with NASH and fibrosis - GS-9674, an FXR agonist, and GS-0976, an acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) inhibitor. Pending demonstration of single agent efficacy and safety in these Phase 2 studies, we plan to initiate combination studies with the three agents in 2017.

In the hematology/oncology area, we continued to progress our product candidates through clinical trials. Idelalisib, a PI3K delta inhibitor, is in Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with relapsed refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We are also evaluating GS-5745, an investigational anti-MMP9 antibody, in a Phase 3 study for the treatment of gastric cancer.

In 2016, we closed on a license and collaboration agreement with Galapagos, a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Belgium, for the development and commercialization of filgotinib, a JAK1 inhibitor being evaluated in Phase 3 trials for three inflammatory disease indications - rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. In 2017, we also expect to initiate Phase 2 clinical trials evaluating filgotinib in combination with GS-9876, a Syk inhibitor, and GS-4059, a BTK inhibitor, for the potential treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

Source: www.sec.gov