Gilead Reports Q3 Revenue of $7.1 Billion with Trodelvy Sales Surging 58%
Gilead Sciences
Antiviral Drug Developer
On November 7, Gilead Sciences' official website disclosed its financial report for the third quarter of 2023. The data showed that the total sales in the third quarter were nearly 7.1 billion US dollars, flat compared with the same period last year. Excluding the sales of the COVID-19 product Remdesivir, the sales increased by 5% year-on-year to 6.4 billion US dollars. The total revenue for the first three quarters reached 20 billion US dollars, basically flat compared with 19.9 billion US dollars in the same period last year.
Among them, the growth of Gilead's HIV and oncology businesses was almost entirely offset by the decline in sales of Remdesivir and hepatitis combination products.
Image Source: Gilead Sciences Official Website
HIV Business and Cell Therapy Become Growth Engines
Sacituzumab Govitecan Surges 58%
Gilead's HIV products generated $4.7 billion in revenue in the third quarter, a 4% increase from the same period last year. The growth was primarily driven by Biktarvy (bictegravir + emtricitabine + tenofovir alafenamide), which saw its revenue grow by 12% year-over-year to over $3 billion, while Descovy (emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide) increased by 2%.
Cell therapy also contributed to Gilead's profits, with revenue reaching $486 million in the third quarter, a 22% increase from the third quarter of 2022. Sales of Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel), used to treat large B-cell lymphoma, grew by 23% to $391 million, while sales of Tecartus (brexucabtagene autoleucel), a treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, reached $96 million, an 18% increase from last year.
Gilead's oncology product Trodelvy (sacituzumab-govitecan-hziy) also performed remarkably in the third quarter, generating $283 million in revenue, representing a 58% year-over-year increase. Trodelvy is the world’s first approved ADC drug targeting TROP-2, used for treating adult patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who have previously received at least two prior therapies.
However, while Gilead's HIV, cancer, and cell therapy businesses are experiencing growth, its COVID-19 product Veklury (remdesivir) is seeing a sharp decline. In the third quarter, remdesivir generated $636 million in revenue, a 31% decrease from the same period last year. Gilead attributed this primarily to lower COVID-19-related hospitalization rates.
Similarly, Gilead's hepatitis combination products (HCV/HBV/HDV) also saw a 10% drop in revenue, earning only $706 million in the third quarter.
Abandon COVID-19 Products
Raise Full-Year Guidance
Gilead also announced in its Q3 report that it would halt the Phase III BIRCH trial of obeldesivir in high-risk non-hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. However, the OAKTREE Phase III trial of obeldesivir is still ongoing in non-hospitalized patients without risk factors for severe COVID-19.
Obeldesivir is an upgraded version of Remdesivir and can be administered orally to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection.
According to Gilead Sciences' press release, the decision to discontinue BIRCH was due to lower-than-expected incidence of COVID-19 and related hospitalizations or all-cause mortality, rather than safety or efficacy concerns.
In September, Gilead Sciences announced the termination of the Phase III clinical trial ENHANCE-2 for Magrolimab, a CD47 antibody, in treating patients with TP53-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This marks the second Phase III clinical study for the drug that Gilead has halted. In July this year, the company stopped the ENHANCE trial for high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
Nevertheless, considering the overall product performance in the third quarter, Gilead Sciences revised its full-year guidance, raising the total sales forecast to $26.7-$26.9 billion from the previous $26.3-$26.7 billion.
Source:
1. Gilead Sciences Official Website
Editor: Pea Shooter
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