Gilead Shares Rise 13% on Sales Gain

Shares of Gilead Sciences Inc. soared 13% on Monday after the Foster City, Calif.-based company said second-quarter results would surpass expectations on strong sales of its HIV drug Viread.

The biotechnology firm’s shares touched a 52-week high of $68.15 before they closed at $67.25, up $7.97, on Nasdaq. Gilead stock got a boost this month when the company received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for Emtriva, its second drug for the human immunodeficiency virus.

Gilead said revenue would be $236 million to $239 million in the second quarter, 30% higher than the $179 million that had been forecast by analysts, according to Thomson First Call.

Operating expenses for the quarter are expected to range from $98 million to $102 million, the company said, lower than analysts forecast.

Sales of Viread, a once-daily HIV pill, will be about $165 million, up from $107 million in the year-ago quarter, Gilead said. The company said sales were being driven by growth in prescriptions and inventory stocking by distributors anticipating a price increase. The cost of a monthly supply of Viread rose 5.5% to $380 on June 27.

The company did not provide details on the magnitude of inventory stocking, which could lead to slower sales in future quarters. Gilead will report its second-quarter results July 31.

“We will have to tease out the inventory effect,” said Ronald C. Renaud of Bear Stearns & Co., who expected Viread sales of $116 million in the quarter. “Our guess is that demand for the drug is strong, and it will stay strong.”

In April, Gilead forecast full-year Viread sales of $475 million to $500 million, up from $425 million to $475 million. Renaud said Viread sales probably would end the year “well north of $500 million.”

Viread works by blocking an enzyme that HIV needs to replicate in human cells. It competes with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s twice-daily Zerit, which had sales of $443 million in 2002, down 15% from the previous year. The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday updated its guidelines on HIV drugs and recommended Viread as a first-line medication for untreated patients. Analysts said the agency’s action should further boost Viread’s use.

Gilead’s new HIV drug, Emtriva, is a once-daily pill similar to GlaxoSmithKline’s widely used Epivir, or 3TC. Analysts expect Emtriva to take a significant amount of sales from the Glaxo drug, which must be taken twice daily.

Gilead plans to eventually combine Emtriva with Viread into a single pill that would compete with Glaxo’s Combivir, the best-selling HIV medication.