Dive Brief:
- Gilead’s second-quarter earnings were up 135% to $6.53 billion.
- Net income for the quarter was $3.66 billion, compared with $772.6 million for Q2 2013.
- Sovaldi has generated revenues of $5.75 billion year to date.
Dive Insight:
Gilead is on a roll, performing well based on strong sales of Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) and HIV drugs, especially its four-in-one, once-daily, oral medicaiotn Stribild (elvitegravir/cobicstat/emtricitabine/tenofovir). Sales of Stribild increased quarter over quarter by 17% to $269.5 million. Meanwhile, sales of Atripla (efavirenz/tenofovir/tricitabine) were down 7% and Truvada (tenofovir/emtricitabine) sales were flat.
Sovaldi's price tag is still under scrutiny; however, Gilead is moving forward and focusing on bringing other products to market. Earlier this week, Biopharma Dive reported on the approval of Zydelig (idelalisib) for the treatment of three types of blood cancer.