Tag Archives: ions

Gilead Sciences Stock Rises As Analysts Still Like HCV Franchise

Big biotech Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) hit a two-month high Monday after two analysts delivered bullish outlooks for the company. On Sunday, RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee lifted his Q1 EPS estimates due to a stock buyback and noted several recent pieces of “incremental” good news. For one, he cited late Friday the successful patent suit brought by Merck ( MRK ) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals ( IONS ), which had resulted in a somewhat lower damages award ($200 million) than Wall Street had expected. He also noted that weekly prescription data from IMS Health ( IMS ) suggest Gilead’s hepatitis C drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni, were holding up reasonably well in the face of competition from Merck’s Zepatier, which launched in late January. This point was made more emphatically Monday in a research note by Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges, who called Merck a “pretender to the HCV (hepatitis C  virus) throne.” Porges noted that a survey of top payer plans backed this up. “Seven weeks after the launch of Zepatier, Sovaldi and Harvoni retain a relatively favorable position in 65% of the top 20 largest commercial plans and 70% of the top 10 largest government plans relative to AbbVie ’s ( ABBV ) Viekira Pak (20%, 30%, respectively) and Zepatier (0%, 10%),” Porges wrote. “Further, in the top 20 Medicare plans, while Harvoni is covered by 100% of plans, 85% of plans do not cover Viekira Pak, and none cover Zepatier.” Porges affirmed his outperform rating on Gilead stock, with a price target of 127. In midday trading on the stock market today , Gilead stock was up more than 2%, near 93, and earlier rose above 94. The stock has climbed about 14% from the 20-month low it hit on Feb. 2, but still has a weak IBD Relative Strength Rating of 29, meaning the stock’s performed in the lowest 29% of all stocks the past 12 months, with an emphasis on the most recent six months. Merck stock was down a fraction midday Monday.

Gilead, Biogen Down On Patent Rulings; Ionis, Merck, Forward Rise

Big biotechs Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) and Biogen ( BIIB ) were both trading down Wednesday morning after receiving unfavorable patent news. Late Tuesday,  Ionis Pharmaceuticals ( IONS ) said that it and its big pharma partner Merck ( MRK ) had won a case alleging that Gilead’s hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug sofosbuvir, which is sold individually as Sovaldi and as an ingredient in Harvoni, infringed on patents that Ionis and Merck had obtained from earlier research. “We used our expertise in a 1998 collaboration with Merck to discover and develop modified nucleosides that benefit patients with HCV,” said Ionis CEO Stanley Crooke in the press release . The case goes back to 2013, when sofosbuvir was on the verge of FDA approval and Merck sought a 10% royalty on sales from Gilead. Gilead sought a judgment invalidating the patents, though it conceded that it had infringed them. The case went to a jury, which ruled Tuesday that the patents were in fact valid. There was no word on damages, though Ionis said that it’s entitled to 20% of the damages. Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges said that the awards won’t be huge and that more litigating would delay them. “We continue to expect that any damages awarded in this case will be relatively modest, the equivalent of a single-digit royalty, significantly less than the 10% Merck was seeking,” Porges wrote in a research note. “In spite of whatever damages the jury awards Merck, Gilead has already indicated that it will appeal.” Ionis stock popped to an eight-week high of 46.05 early on the  stock market today , though midday it was down a fraction, near 41.50. Gilead stock, though, was down more than 3% near 90, while Merck was up a fraction near 53. Patent Office Will Review Biogen’s Tecfidera Biogen stock, meanwhile, was off 1.2%, near 257, in midday trading Wednesday, after the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reversed an earlier decision and decided to review a patent on Biogen’s top-selling drug, Tecfidera. Hedge-fund manager Kyle Bass filed the request for a review; last year, he launched an unusual short-selling strategy by filing such requests on a number of blockbuster drugs, which he said had “BS patents.” The USPTO initially denied his request in September, but on Tuesday it changed its tune. Coincidentally or not, European Union authorities earlier this month invalidated the European equivalent of the same patent , which expires in 2028. In addition, Forward Pharma ( FWP ) is separately challenging the patent; its stock was up 4% near 17 in midday trading Wednesday. “Today’s decision is just a first step in the (review) process, and nothing happens yet in the USA, and as of today Tecfidera still enjoys 10-year exclusivity in EU (would protect it to 2024 in EU),” wrote RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Yee in a research note. “Even though the … patent expires in February 2028, consensus did not assume this would get full protection and already assumed/expected generics to launch at some point.”