Gilead sees future in HIV, hepatitis C

By Deena Beasley

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) expects sharp growth in the market for drugs to treat the virus that causes AIDS in coming years as routine HIV testing takes hold, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday.

"In the U.S., only about half of infected patients are being treated," said CEO John Martin at the Reuters Health Summit in New York.

That suggests continued sales growth for Gilead's AIDS drugs Truvada, which combines Gilead's other AIDS drugs Viread and Emtriva in a single pill, as well as Atripla, a three-drug combination pill that includes Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's (BMY.N) Sustiva.

Martin reiterated his forecast for Gilead's 2008 sales of about $5 billion.

Gilead's drugs have also gained market share as trial data has emerged showing that AIDS regimens containing Epzicom, a combination pill sold by GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L), raised the risk for heart attack.

Only 600,000 of the 1.2 million U.S. patients infected with the HIV virus are being treated, Gilead's drugs are used by about 65 percent, or 400,000, Martin said.

Going forward, Gilead sees its future in hepatitis C drugs, and most of its research budget is directed at treating the liver disease, Martin said.

Hepatitis C is a crowded and competitive market and Gilead hopes to develop a drug that does not need to be combined with the current standard treatment, interferon.

Martin said it is too early to provide a timeline for development of its hepatitis C products, but said it is in discussions with U.S. regulators about trial design.

The CEO said he sees the future of hepatitis treatment in combination treatments. The company plans to be active in drugs with multiple mechanisms of action, whether through partnerships, product acquisitions or internal research, he added.

Martin did not specify which technologies or companies he might be interested in, but said he is looking all options.

Gilead, considered by analysts to be one of the most attractive investments among the big biotech companies, would not be open to being acquired by other companies on the lookout for new products to fill their own ailing pipelines, he said.

"We want to remain independent," Martin said.

He also said Gilead will maintain its current research and development spending of about 12 percent of revenue, relying on partnerships and collaborations for much of its product innovation.

Martin said Gilead's research budget is about 0.2 percent of worldwide spending on drug research. "There are less than 20 new chemical entities approved every year -- the statistics are against you," he said.