Gilead Sciences

Overview
Gilead Sciences nasdaq: GILD is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes therapeutics to advance the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. For many years since the company was founded, the company concentrated primarily on antiviral drugs to treat patients infected with HIV, hepatitis B or influenza. In 2006, Gilead acquired two companies that were developing drugs to treat patients with pulmonary diseases. The company has eleven commercially available products. Headquartered in Foster City, California, Gilead has operations in North America, Europe and Australia. As of Jan. 31, 2007, the company had 2,515 full-time employees.

The company's name and logo refer to the Balm of Gilead. Gilead (a place mentioned in the Bible) was famed for its small trees that produced a resin used in medicine. The leaf in the logo symbolizes healing, life and growth, while the shield represents safety, strength and honor. Together they signify Gilead's efforts to use the healing power of science to create medicines that treat life-threatening diseases.

Gilead is a member of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index and the S&P 500.

History
Gilead Sciences was originally formed under the name of "Oligogen" in June 1987 by Michael Riordan, a medical doctor who was 29 years old at the time. But the name of the company was changed to "Gilead Sciences" for the incorporation in 1988. Riordan looked to Donald Rumsfeld as a mentor in the business world and to navigate the political waters. Under the technical leadership of Scientist, Mark Matteucci, the company focussed 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 June 1996, Gilead launched its first commercial product, Vistide (cidofovir injection) 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.

Viread (tenofovir) achieved first approval in 2001 for the treatment of HIV.

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 July 2006, the U.S.Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Atripla&reg;, a once a day single tablet regimen for HIV, combining Sustiva&reg; (efavirenz), a Bristol-Myers Squibb product, and Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), a Gilead product.

Gilead purchased Raylo Chemicals, Inc. in November 2006 for a price of $133.3 million. Raylo Chemical, based in Edmonton, Alberta, was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Degussa AG, a German company. Raylo Chemical was a custom manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients and advanced intermediates for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries.

Entry in the pulmonology therapeutic area
In 2006, Gilead completed two acquisitions that allowed the company to branch out from its historical antiviral franchise into the pulmonology therapeutic arena.

Myogen, based in Boulder, Colorado, was completing Phase 3 studies of ambrisentan, an orally available endothelin receptor antagonist. The U.S. FDA subsequently approved ambrisentan for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension in June 2007.

Under an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline, Myogen markets Flolan (epoprostenol sodium) in the United States for the treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension. Additionally, Myogen is developing (in Phase 3 studies) darusentan, also an endothelin receptor antagonist, for the potential treatment of resistant hypertension.

The second acquisition was Corus Pharma. Corus' lead product candidate, aztreonam lysine for inhalation, is an antibiotic with activity against gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause lung infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. The product is in Phase 3 studies. Gilead also obtained an inhalation formulation of two antibiotics for treatment of respiratory infections.

Gilead expanded its move into pulmonology in 2007 by entering into a licensing agreement with Parion for an epithelial sodium channel inhibitor for the treatment of pulmonary diseases, including cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchiectasis.

Board of Directors

 * James M. Denny (Chairman)
 * Paul Berg
 * John F. Cogan
 * Etienne F. Davignon
 * Carla A. Hills
 * John W. Madigan
 * John C. Martin (CEO)
 * Gordon E. Moore
 * Nicholas G. Moore
 * George P. Shultz (emeritus)
 * Gayle Edlund Wilson

Senior Management
Gilead's Executive Committee is responsible for making the critical decisions that determine the company's future. Its members include:

Product portfolio
Gilead has 11 products on the market.