There Is Potential in This Highly Lucrative Industry: Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD), Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMY), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) is the world’s foremost biopharmaceutical company when it comes to combating deadly virus. It is far ahead of competitors in the field of HIV and hepatitis treatment. Gilead is the only company with an FDA approved AIDS prevention therapy. The governing body has approved Gilead’s Truvada for people in the high risk aids profession such as caretakers of infected personal and nursing staff. The company is already the global leader in HIV treatment due to high sales of Truvada and Atripla.

According to recent reports doctors have finally been able to cure an infant from HIV. The patient was given a drug cocktail 30 hours after birth to suppress the virus. This could be a breakthrough in the fight against AIDS as this is the first time a newborn has been cured from the disease. The reports also indicate that the patient has been virus free for the last 10 months. According to Bloomberg, approximately 300,000 children are infected yearly, with a large number in developing countries.

AIDS Drug Market

Gilead is currently the leader in the AIDS treatment industry with Truvada and Atripla. Atripla had sales of $3.2 billion in 2011, and Truvada generated sales of $2.8 billion. Truvada is a combination of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) drugs Viread and Emtriva. The company has recently received FDA approval for its drug Stibild, which is a combination of four different drugs. Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY) is just behind Gilead in this industry with Reyataz and Sustiva generating annual sales of approximately $1.5 billion and $1.4 billion respectively.

Merck is also a serious contender in this industry with Isentress, which generates approximately $1.1 billion in sales. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) are lagging far behind with their drugs Intelence and Selzentry.

Pipeline

Although a number of breakthroughs have been made in the fight against AIDS, the pursuit of complete HIV eradiation is still ongoing. According to reports, a number of companies are trying find a permanent cure for the virus with Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), J&J and Merck leading the quest.