Gilead Sciences beats estimates for 4th-quarter earnings
Gilead Sciences Inc. posted a 34 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit, trouncing Wall Street expectations, as sales of its blockbuster hepatitis C drugs soared in Japan and offset lower sales in the U.S.
The maker of Harvoni, the first once-daily, single-pill regimen for hepatitis C, and predecessor drug Sovaldi, has been propelled by the lucrative franchise since Sovaldi was released at the end of 2013.
[...] their sales in the U.S. appear to have begun an expected slowdown, with insurers demanding discounts as high as 45 percent off the pills’ eye-popping prices for a course of treatment — $94,000 for Harvoni and $83,000 for Sovaldi.
Some insurers and government health programs also are limiting the number of new patients they clear to start treatment.
On Tuesday, the Foster City company reported fourth-quarter net income of $4.68 billion ($3.18 per share).