Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD), Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK): Everyone Wants a Piece of This Mega-Blockbuster

Investor’s take
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) is a financially strong company with cash and equivalents of $2.2 billion as of June 30. Reported net income was $773 million (diluted earnings per share of $0.46) on quarterly revenue of $2.78 billion.

Analysts forecast that sofosbuvir has the potential of grabbing a major chunk of the HCV market from existing treatments, and sales could surge past $6 billion by 2017 — which is why all of these companies want a piece of the drug.

That leaves the matter of claims being made for control of sofosbuvir. Biotech and pharmaceutical industries have extremely complex relationships that are often difficult for investors to fathom. The only established fact is that Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has the wherewithal for fighting it out. The contrarian view is that even if a small portion of the pie has to be surrendered to a claimant, it is hardly going to make a big difference to what definitely looks like a blockbuster drug. That said, I like Gilead’s chances of getting the claims quashed.

The article Everyone Wants a Piece of This Mega-Blockbuster originally appeared on Fool.com.

Kanak Kanti De has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences. 

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