Gilead's 1st-qtr sales reach $692.9M, up 61%

USA-based biotechnology company Gilead Sciences says that its total revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2006, were $692.9 million, up 61% on the year-earlier comparable period, marking 10 consecutive quarters of sales growth. The firm's net income for the first three months of the year was $262.7 million, or $0.55 per diluted share.

Gilead says that its success has been driven by sales of its HIV product franchise, which includes Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) and Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), which leapt 50% to $450.7 million in the reporting period. The firm added that it had seen a 23% increase in the revenue contribution from its chronic hepatitis B treatment Hepsera (a non-liver targeted pro-drug of adefovir), which totaled $52.7 million, driven by significant volume growth in the USA and Europe.

Also in the quarter, Gilead received royalty payments and contract revenues from collaborations totalling $133.5 million, consisting primarily of a $115.3 million revenue payment from Roche relating to its licensing of the antiviral Tamiflu (oseltamivir). Gilead shares rose $0.65 closing at $61.84 in trading on the Nasdaq on the day of the news, before going on to climb a further $0.51 to $62.35 in after hours-trading.