Gilead Sciences NASDAQ: GILD Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Corporate Affairs Johanna Mercier said the company is leaning on its HIV business while continuing to build out oncology and inflammation through recent acquisitions and pipeline development.
Speaking at the Bank of America Healthcare Conference, Mercier described Gilead as a company focused on three therapeutic areas: HIV, oncology and inflammation. She said HIV remains the foundation of the business, spanning both treatment and prevention, while oncology includes both solid tumors and liquid tumors. The inflammation portfolio is earlier, though she pointed to seladelpar, marketed as LIVDELZI, as a product that is “doing very well in the marketplace.”
Mercier said Gilead recently reported “a really strong start to 2026” and raised the midpoint of its guidance by about $400 million, driven mostly by HIV. She cited Yeztugo, Descovy and Biktarvy as key contributors, along with Trodelvy.
Recent acquisitions target oncology and inflammation
Mercier said Gilead’s three recent acquisitions — Arcellx, Tubulis and Ouro — were not necessarily planned to occur in close succession, but followed an extended period of evaluating the market after the CymaBay acquisition. She said the company was in a “position of strength,” with no major loss of exclusivity expected until 2036, allowing it to be selective.
The Arcellx transaction, which closed last month, builds on an existing collaboration around anito-cel, a cell therapy for multiple myeloma. Mercier said the PDUFA date for anito-cel is expected in late December of this year. She said fully owning Arcellx should help Gilead move faster, noting that collaborations between two companies can take more time to execute.
Mercier said the first anito-cel launch opportunity would be in fourth-line multiple myeloma, a market she described as approximately $3.5 billion. She said the product’s profile is differentiated not only by efficacy but also by safety, and that the larger opportunity could come from moving into earlier lines of therapy, including second line and potentially first line. She said that could represent an addressable patient population of about $20 billion.
Gilead also expects to have about 200 authorized treatment centers before the end of the year, which Mercier said would support the anito-cel launch. She added that the product’s profile may lend itself to the community setting, where many multiple myeloma patients are treated.
On Tubulis, Mercier said Gilead was interested both in the company’s ovarian cancer compound, TUB-040, and in its antibody-drug conjugate platform. She said Gilead’s experience with Trodelvy has informed its interest in ADCs, particularly around the antibody, linker and payload components. Mercier said Tubulis’ platform could potentially allow higher payload levels with better targeting and without necessarily creating safety issues.
Ouro, which Mercier described as part of Gilead’s inflammation strategy, is focused initially on orphan diseases. She said the company is interested in the potential for a subcutaneous BCMA CD3 T-cell engager to deliver a sustained response, and possibly remission for a period of time.
Trodelvy growth and breast cancer opportunity
Mercier said Trodelvy exceeded the company’s expectations in the first quarter, with 37% growth. She said growth last year had been partly obscured by the removal of a bladder cancer indication, but recent data and guideline updates have strengthened the product’s position.
She pointed to ASCENT-03 and ASCENT-04 data in first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, as well as Category 1 NCCN guideline inclusion earlier this year. Mercier said Gilead is not yet promoting Trodelvy in first line and is awaiting approval in the second half of the year, but she said some physicians are using it spontaneously based on the data.
Mercier said Trodelvy is already standard of care in second-line triple-negative breast cancer, but some physicians had continued to use older chemotherapies in second line and Trodelvy later. She said first-line data have helped move use earlier. She also said moving into first line could double the addressable patient population and double duration of treatment because patients are healthier and stay on therapy longer.
Yeztugo launch drives HIV prevention momentum
In HIV prevention, Mercier said Gilead is encouraged by the launch of Yeztugo, a long-acting injectable PrEP product dosed every six months. She said access was a major pre-launch focus, and that as of January the product had 95% access, with 95% of those patients having a $0 copay.
Mercier said the market is still adapting from a daily oral model to an injectable one. She said a January increase in weekly prescriptions reflected better access, CVS participation and the implementation of a J-code, which supported buy-and-bill use. She said Gilead is seeing momentum through both specialty pharmacy and buy-and-bill channels.
She said physicians and patients are becoming more comfortable with second injections, aided by nurse educators and training. Mercier said early claims data and anecdotal feedback on second-dose returns are encouraging, though she cautioned that more volume and several cycles are needed to assess persistence more fully.
Gilead raised its Yeztugo guidance for the year to $1 billion from $800 million. Mercier said the earlier guidance had been set before the January jump in weekly prescriptions. She said multiple metrics were moving in the right direction, including access and share in the switch market. She said Gilead is also seeing more PrEP-naive patients than expected.
Looking ahead, Mercier said Gilead is developing a once-yearly PrEP option, which she referred to as Q12 or PrEP 365. She said the company sees potential use beyond patients switching from every-six-month dosing, including people with unstable housing, the Department of Corrections, college students and emergency rooms. Mercier said Gilead expects long-acting options to ultimately account for roughly 60% to 70% of the PrEP market, with daily oral products such as Descovy serving patients who prefer or require an oral option.
Biktarvy remains central in HIV treatment
Mercier said Biktarvy, launched in 2018, continues to grow and remains the standard of care among integrase inhibitors. She said its share is north of 52% and still growing, and that about 70% of newly diagnosed HIV patients starting therapy are receiving Biktarvy.
She said Gilead is also looking to expand treatment options in the switch market, including BIC/LEN, which has an expected PDUFA date in late August, and islatravir/lenacapavir, a once-weekly oral treatment candidate with data expected by the end of the first half and a potential launch next year.
Asked about Merck entering the HIV market, Mercier said more options in treatment and prevention are positive and can help with education, awareness and reducing stigma. However, she said differentiation will be important and that “the bar is high” in HIV.
Gilead emphasizes diversification without leaving HIV
Mercier said Gilead’s strategy is not to move away from HIV, but to build on that franchise while diversifying. She described oncology as already a more than $3 billion franchise, with Trodelvy, Yescarta, anito-cel and the Tubulis platform as key elements of future growth.
She said inflammation remains more nascent, with Phase 2 readouts or updates expected later this year and the Ouro acquisition expected to close in the next quarter or so. Mercier said the pieces are coming together to build out Gilead’s business into the 2030s and beyond.
About Gilead Sciences NASDAQ: GILD
Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.
Gilead's product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.
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