Gilead's share price up on strong 4th-qtr sales

US drugmaker Gilead Sciences says that, for the fourth quarter of 2006, it recorded a loss of $1.67 billion, or $3.63 per share. The company said, however, that this includes the acquisition charge of $2.04 billion related to the purchase of Corus and Myogen (Marketletter October 30 and December 18, 2006).

Most analysts viewed Gilead's total revenue for the quarter, up 48% to $899.2 million, as being a more accurate measure of the firm's performance. The company said that the expansion had been driven by a 56% hike in turnover from product sales.

Gilead went on to explain that its HIV franchise, which includes Truvada (emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), Viread (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate), Emtriva (emtricitabine) and combination therapy Atripla (efavirenz 600mg/emtricitabine 200mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300mg) contributed $624.4 million, representing 67% growth. The company added that the strong uptake of the recently launched Atripla, and the continuing good performance of Truvada, had been key to the success of the franchise.