What should I know about Gilead Sciences?
Gilead Sciences is a US biopharmaceutical company based in Foster City, California, that researches and sells antiviral medicines for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and COVID-19, along with cancer and cell therapy treatments. Michael Riordan founded it in 1987, and Daniel O'Day is chairman and chief executive. It entered cancer cell therapy by buying Kite Pharma in 2017. In the second quarter of 2026 it reported total revenue of $7.8 billion, up 10% on a year earlier, driven mainly by its HIV portfolio.
What are Gilead Sciences's main drugs?
HIV medicines are Gilead's core business, with sales of $5.7 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up 12%. Biktarvy earned $3.8 billion (up 7%) and Descovy, used for treatment and prevention, $967 million (up 48%). Liver disease products, including Livdelzi, made $877 million. The breast cancer drug Trodelvy rose 26% to $457 million. The COVID-19 treatment Veklury fell 81% to $23 million, and cell therapy sales dropped 14% to $417 million. Gilead expects 2026 product sales of $30.1 billion to $30.4 billion.
What is Gilead Sciences currently developing?
Gilead's HIV pipeline includes a weekly oral version of lenacapavir for HIV prevention, for which the FDA accepted an application, and a combination of islatravir and lenacapavir that produced positive Phase 3 data. The FDA has approved Hepcludex for hepatitis delta, and the European Commission approved Trodelvy for first-line triple-negative breast cancer. Gilead has also completed two acquisitions, Tubulis for $3.15 billion and Ouro Medicines for $1.675 billion, to expand its pipeline.
Have there been any controversies involving Gilead Sciences?
Gilead has faced lawsuits alleging it deliberately delayed a safer HIV drug. More than 2,000 plaintiffs claimed the company held back tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) to protect sales of older tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) drugs such as Viread and Truvada. In June 2024 Gilead agreed to a $40 million settlement of federal claims from about 2,625 plaintiffs, saying it was not an admission of liability. Around 24,000 users separately sued in California, where an appeals court allowed a negligence claim to proceed. That case was before the California Supreme Court when last reported.
Is Gilead Sciences publicly traded, and how big is it?
Yes. Gilead went public on Nasdaq in 1992 and trades under the ticker GILD. It is part of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100. Its market value was about $187 billion on 4 September 2026, up about 23% over 12 months. It reported revenue of $7.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026, and it raised its forecast for 2026 product sales to between $30.1 billion and $30.4 billion in August.