Gilead Sciences

HQ Contact information
333 Lakeside Dr. Foster City, CA 94404 Phone: (650) 574-3000 Fax: (650) 578-9264 1-800-GILEAD-5 1-800-445-3235

Country of incorporation
USA

Ownership status
Public

Primary industry sector
Biotechnology

Primary industry ranking
2006:
 * Fortune 500: 649 (801, 2005)
 * Fortune 2006 Pharmaceutical Rank: 12
 * 100 Fastest Growing Tech Companies: 9
 * 2006 Business Week 50 Best Performing Companies: 3

Number of employees worldwide
2,515

Chief executive officer
John C. Martin, 55

Ticker symbol
NASDAQ: GILD

Investor website
Gilead Investors

List of largest shareholders

 * 1) FMR Corporation 6.95%
 * AXA, 5.49%
 * 1) Barclay’s, 5.18%
 * 2) Janus Capital, 3.87%
 * 3) Price (T. Rowe) Associates, 3.81%
 * 4) Jennison Associates, 3.60%
 * 5) Capital Research and Management, 3.28%
 * 6) Vanguard Group, 2.78%
 * 7) Goldman Sachs Group, 2.64%

Total revenue
2006: $3,026,139,000 2005: $2,028,400,000

Net income
2006: ($1,189,957,000)
 * Due largely to their two major acquisitions this year.

2005: $813,900,000

Company history
Gilead Sciences was originally formed under the name of "Oligogen" in June 1987 by Michael Riordan, a 29-yeard old MD, with degrees from Harvard and Johns Hopkins. Prior to founding Gilead, Riordan had worked for Menlo Ventures, a venture capital firm. The company’s name was changed to "Gilead Sciences" for the incorporation in 1988. Under the technical leadership of Mark Matteucci the company focused on discovery research making small strands of DNA (oligomers) to assess the potential of genetic code blockers (gene therapy). Its development of small molecule antiviral therapeutics was ushered in by John Martin in 1992 with the licensing of nucleotide compounds discovered in two European academic labs.

In 1990, Gilead entered into a collaborative research agreement with Glaxo for the research and development of genetic code blockers, also known as antisense. This collaboration was terminated in 1998, and Gilead's antisense intellectual property portfolio was sold to Isis Pharmaceuticals.

Gilead debuted on the NASDAQ in January 1992. Its IPO raised $86.25 million in proceeds.

In 1996, Gilead appointed John C. Martin as the company’s President and CEO. This same year they launched their first commercial product, Vistide for the treatment of cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis in patients with AIDS. The company cooperated with Pharmacia & Upjohn to market the product outside the U.S.A.

In March 1999 Gilead acquired NeXstar Pharmaceuticals of Boulder, Colorado following two years of negotiations with the company. At the time, NeXstar's annual sales of $130 million was three times Gilead's sales. NeXstar's two revenue-generating drugs were AmBisome, an injectable fungal treatment, and DaunoXome, an oncology drug taken by HIV patients. Also in 1999, Roche announced first approval of Tamiflu (oseltamivir) for the treatment of influenza. Tamiflu was originally discovered by Gilead and licensed to Roche for late-phase development and marketing.

In 2001, Gilead received FDA approval for Viread, an HIV treatment drug.

In January 2003 Gilead completed its acquisition of Triangle Pharmaceuticals. The company also announced its first full year of profitability. Later that year Hepsera (adefovir) was approved for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B, and Emtriva (emtricitabine) for the treatment of HIV.

In 2004 Gilead launched Truvada, a fixed-dose combination of tenofovir and emtricitabine.

In January 1997, Donald Rumsfeld, a Board member since 1988, was appointed Chairman of the company. He stood down from the Board in January 2001 when appointed Secretary of Defense at the start of George W. Bush's first term as President. Federal disclosure forms indicate that Rumsfeld owns between USD$5 million and USD$25 million in Gilead stock. The rise in Gilead's share prices from USD$35 to USD$57 per share will have added between USD$2.5 million to USD$15.5 million to Rumsfeld's net worth.

In November 2005, George W. Bush urged Congress to pass $7.1 billion in emergency funding to prepare for the possible H5N1(bird flu) pandemic, of which one billion is solely dedicated to the purchase, and distribution of Tamiflu.

In July 2006, the FDA approved Atripla, a once a day, single tablet regimen for HIV. Atripla combines Sustiva, a Bristol-Myers Squibb product with Truvada(itself a combination of emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), a Gilead product. In it’s first six months the drug earned $205.7 million in salesBusiness Week Profile

Gilead continued its pattern of acquiring competitors, paying $2.5 billion for Myogen in October of 2006 and $133 million in November for Raylo Chemicals.

Business strategy
Since their founding in 1987, Gilead has routinely sought out partners for their drug products rather than trying to market them alone. Simultaneously they have attempted to grow by frequently acquiring their competitors.

Lines of business
Prescription Medications for:
 * HIV
 * Hepatitis B
 * Influenza

Major Wholesalers
2006:
 * Cardinal Health Inc, 		17.8%
 * McKesson Corp, 		12.1%
 * AmerisourceBergen Corp 	11.1%

Competitors
GlaxoSmithKline Pfizer

Countries of operation
United States Canada France United Kingdom Australia Ireland Greece Portugal Spain Italy

Breakdown of revenues
2006(thousands):
 * HIV Products: $2,125,770
 * Other: $462,427
 * Royalties: $416,526

2005(thousands):
 * HIV Products: $1,394,098
 * Others :$415,201
 * Royalties: 196,873

Executives

 * John C. Martin, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer
 * Norbert W. Bischofberger, PhD, Executive Vice President, Research and Development
 * John F. Milligan, PhD, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
 * Kevin Young, Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations
 * Gregg H. Alton, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
 * Anthony D. Caracciolo, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing
 * William A. Lee, PhD, Senior Vice President, Research
 * John J. Toole, MD, PhD, Senior Vice President, Clinical Research
 * Taiyin Yang, PhD, Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing

Board members & affiliations

 * James M. Denny, Chairman, Gilead Sciences Board of Directors
 * Paul Berg, PhD, Cahill Professor, Emeritus, Stanford University
 * John F. Cogan, PhD, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
 * Etienne F. Davignon, Vice-Chairman, Suez-Tractebel
 * John C. Martin, PhD, President and Chief Operating Officer, Gilead Sciences
 * Gordon E. Moore, PhD, Chairman Emeritus, Intel Corporation
 * Nicholas G. Moore, Retired Global Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers
 * George P. Shultz, PhD, Distinguished Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
 * Gayle Edlund Wilson, Director, Education Financing Foundation of California and Ralph M. Parsons Foundation

Executive/director compensation
2006: $2.45 million and $30.05 million in exercised stock options 2005: $15.1 million

Lobbying
In 2006, Gilead spent $810,000 on lobbing, a 40% increase in their annual lobbying expenses.

In the first half of 2007 they had already spent $380,000 more on lobbying. Their efforts were primarily directed at issues of international health and intellectual property rights and AIDS-related public health programs.

Corporate Governance
As of November 6, 2007, Gilead ranks ahead of 58.6% of S&P 500 Companies and 96.5% of Pharmaceutical companies in their Corporate Governance Quotient

Social responsibility initiatives

 * Brazil:
 * In May 2006, Gilead reached an agreement with the Brazilian Health Ministry to reduce the price of Viread by approximately 50%. This occurred in response to the Brazilian government considering issuing compulsory license to permit the manufacture of otherwise patented products aimed at HIV treatment.

External resources

 * Michael F. Bigham

External articles

 * Bernadette Tansey, "Gilead grows up. Visionary biotech startup matures into pragmatic industry leader," San Francisco Chronicle, April 14, 2003.
 * "EBay halts bird flu drug auction. Says sale of prescription drugs is banned as price for Tamiflu soars," Reuters (CNN/Money), October 18, 2005.
 * Kevin Freking, "Roche Increasing Tamiflu Production," Associated Press (Yahoo! News), October 21, 2005.
 * "Tamiflu Gilead Chair Was ... Rummy," FreeMarketNews.com, October 21, 2005. re Donald H. Rumsfeld
 * Joseph Mercola, "Who Owns the Rights on Tamiflu: Rumsfeld To Profit From Bird Flu Hoax," Global Research, October 26, 2005.
 * "Roche probes Tamiflu outsourcing," Reuters (CNN/Money), October 27, 2005: "Drug company says it will meet with generic producers interested in making the bird flu treatment."