For years, Gilead Sciences has been on a mission to become a power player in oncology. Now, commercial performances from its rising star Trodelvy—plus its cell therapy offerings—are putting that goal into clearer view.
While HIV sales of $4.6 billion contributed the lion’s share of Gilead’s second-quarter haul of $6.6 billion, the company’s oncology portfolio chipped in another crucial chunk of $728 million, a 38% jump from last year's Q2.
Breast cancer med Trodelvy locked down sales of $260 million, jumping 63% year over year. Gilead’s cell therapies Yescarta and Tecartus delivered sales increases of 29% and 21%, respectively, reaching quarterly revenues of $380 million and $88 million.
Gilead has set a lofty goal of pulling a third of its revenue from oncology by 2030. Together, the three drugs are on track to generate $3 billion this year, chief financial officer Andy Dickinson noted on the company’s second-quarter earnings conference call.
Even as the drugs deliver solid growth, analysts warn to expect “possible growing pains as sales ramp along with increasing manufacturing capacity,” Third Bridge's Lee Brown wrote in a note to clients.
This past February, Trodelvy won a new approval for pre-treated HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer. There, the company has seen a “really strong” uptake as it's “building on the foundation” of its first approval in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, chief commercial officer Johanna Mercier remarked.
The antibody-drug conjugate entered Gilead’s fold in 2020 with the company’s $21 billion purchase of Immunomedics. It was a “unique” point in time when Gilead “really needed an anchor molecule to build our oncology business around,” CEO Daniel O’Day said on the call.
Now, the company will look to focus on partnerships as opposed to snapping up assets or larger acquisitions, he added.
Overall during the quarter, the company posted 5% year-over-year revenue growth, which took a hit from sliding Veklury sales. Taking COVID-19 drug Veklury out of the equation, Gilead’s sales rose 7% to $6.6 billion, the company said.
Based on its performance during 2023’s first half, the company raised its full-year guidance from a previous estimate of between $26 billion and $26.5 billion to a new range of $26.3 billion to $26.7 billion.
Meanwhile, Gilead’s HIV star Biktarvy is expected to lead the charge in the company’s steady infectious disease franchise. In that unit, growth is expected to come in at 12.4% from 2023 to 2029, according to a recent GlobalData report. Along with Pfizer and GSK, the three companies are expected to be the main growth drivers in the infectious disease market, according to GlobalData analyst Kevin Mercaida.
Biktarvy contributed $3 billion in sales during Gilead's most recent quarter.