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(1) As someone who was following the market when Gilead paid $11 billion for PharmAsset, it was not a sure thing that it would be first to market or a premier d

(1) As someone who was following the market when Gilead paid $11 billion for PharmAsset, it was not a sure thing that it would be first to market or a premier drug. They announced $137/share on November 21 for a stock that opened at $65.49 on November 11. People like to point out how much money Gilead made on the deal, but that is Monday morning quarterbacking on something where they easily could have lost billions. (2) The article claims Harvoni was acquired. That is not really true. Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) came from the Pharmasset acquisition. Harvoni is a combination of sofosbuvir with ledipasvir, a drug discovered at Gilead. The combination of the two is a key part of the treatment; sofosbuvir was still taken with interferon (and ribavirin) for genotype 1 HCV, the most common form. Treatment for genotype 1 HCV, without interferon required ledipasvir. The notion that Gilead contributed nothing scientifically to Harvoni is false; they provided a crucial component to the all-oral treatment of HCV genotype 1.

refurb 10y ago
As someone who was following the market when Gilead paid $11 billion for PharmAsset, it was not a sure thing that it would be first to market or a premier drug. This is a fantastic point. I remember when Gilead announced their acquisition of Pharmasset. They were ridiculed in the press. How could they be so stupid to pay that much? Many people thought that $11B was as good as gone. That's the risk involved with drug development. It's like VCs, you spend a ton of money on a lot of investments, most of which fail. Unless you get a few huge winners, it's not a feasible business.