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Gilead Sciences Plunges after Disappointing Clinical Trial Results

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Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) shares are plunging over 14% in morning trade after the company said some patients with hepatitis C genotype 1 had a viral relapse within four weeks after stopping a 12-week regimen with the medicine, GS-7977, plus ribavirin. The other patients in the trial are two weeks out from stopping treatment, and haven’t relapsed, the company said.

“These data answer an important question about the use of GS-7977 and ribavirin for the treatment of genotype 1 null responder patients, suggesting that additional direct acting antivirals may be necessary to effectively treat this patient population,” said Norbert Bischofberger, PhD, Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer. “We will continue to explore a number of therapeutic approaches to address this significant unmet medical need, including combinations with other oral antivirals.”

“Gilead announced what is unquestionably bad news,” Mark Schoenebaum, an analyst with ISI Group in New York, wrote in a note to clients today. The results could mean this kind of therapy “isn’t going to be enough in genotype 1 patients.”


“While we think other upcoming data from Gilead will likely be more positive and 7977 is still the best HCV drug to date,” the negative data “may likely call into doubt the thesis that Incivek will essentially go to zero in 2014” Jason Kantor, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a research note today.

Because only a few hepatitis C drugs are approved, and others in testing may not pan out, “we don’t know what the winning formula will be,” Ben Weintraub, an industry analyst at Wolters Kluwer InThought in New York, said during a Bloomberg Industries panel last week. To raise the odds, “companies are doing M&A and starting new trials on almost a daily basis.”

While the results announced today by Gilead “disappointed,” a “disaster scenario is unlikely,” said Robyn Karnauskas, an analyst with Deutsche Bank in New York, in a note to clients.

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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.


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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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