Gilead reports first Sovaldi sales

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) reported 4Q13 and 2013 financial results late Tuesday that beat the Street and also provided the first official sales figures for its newly launched HCV drug Sovaldi sofosbuvir. Gilead recorded $139.4 million in 4Q13 Sovaldi sales, which the company launched in the U.S. in December. The Street is expecting 2014 sales of $3.5-$4 billion. Sovaldi was approved in Europe last month, and Gilead disclosed on a conference call to discuss its earnings that a 12-week course of the drug is priced at almost L35,000 ($57,382) in the U.K. and at almost EUR 49,000 ($66,135) in Germany. In the U.S., the wholesale acquisition cost of a 12-week course of Sovaldi is $84,000.

In January, buysiders told BioCentury that high-profile launches including Sovaldi will be a key determinant of whether biotech remains attractive to investors in 2014 (See BioCentury, Jan. 13). ...