The US Food and Drug Administration has approved Gilead Science's Vistide (cidofovir injection) for the treatment of cytomegalovirus retinitis. Shipment of Vistide, the company's first approved product, has already begun. Gilead is independently marketing Vistide in the USA with an antiviral speciality sales force.
Analysts have not forecast huge sales for the drug, because there are relatively few people who suffer from the condition. However, it is an important first step for the company in its bid to commercialize a series of antivirals based on nucleotide structures. Variations of cidofovir are now being tested in clinical trials for the treatment of Herpes simplex and human papillomavirus, and success in these diseases could dramatically increase its market.
Gilead now joins a very select group of biotech companies that have successfully taken a drug from the test tube to the market, noted Mark Simon of Robertson, Stephens & Co. This compound, as well as the class of compounds it represents, will carry Gilead to profitability, he said.
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