Gilead's 3rd-qtr losses hit $52M on Corus buy

California, USA-based drugmaker Gilead Sciences says that it losses for the third quarter of 2006 were $52.2 million, or $0.11 per share, compared with net income of $179.2 million in the like, year-earlier period. The firm explained that the losses arose largely from a charge of $355.6 million, and $25.6 million in stock-based compensation, relating to its acquisition of fellow US group Corus Pharma (Marketletter August 14).

Gilead also reported revenues of $670.1 million in the period, up 43%, adding that the increase was based on the success of its HIV franchise, which saw a 53% expansion to $557.3 million. The firm said that the rapid uptake of the combined antiviral Atripla (efavirenz 600mg/emtricitabine 200mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300mg), which it developed in partnership with fellow US firm Bristol-Myers Squibb, since its US launch in the summer (Marketletter July 17), had further bolstered the performance of this key area of its business.