To Our Stockholders, Employees and Friends: Since the founding of our company in 1987, Gilead has focused on developing and delivering medications that advance the treatment of life-threatening diseases worldwide. This is our singular motivation – it is why we are here. Our achievements in 2006 are the result of progress that can be traced over many years and, at the same time, create a foundation for continued growth in 2007 and beyond.
MARKET LEADERSHIP IN HIV, HEPATITIS B AND INFLUENZA
The year 2006 marked the 25th anniversary
of the first reported AIDS cases in the United States. Over
the course of the last five years, Gilead has contributed
to the tremendous progress made in the treatment of
HIV/AIDS. Today, our HIV therapies are critical components
of the most-prescribed highly active antiretroviral
therapy (HAART) regimens and have contributed to the
overall success of this treatment paradigm by helping to
greatly reduce pill burden. Backed by years of safety and
efficacy data, Viread and Truvada have each carved out
leadership positions among HIV treatments. As the first
and only complete HAART combination in a once-daily
single tablet, Atripla has quickly joined their ranks since
its U.S. approval in July 2006. Our HIV franchise, which
consists of Viread, Emtriva, Truvada and Atripla, generated
more than
$2 billion in product sales in 2006.
In 2006, Gilead’s products and partnerships generated more than $3 billion in total revenues. Now in our 20th year, we are pleased with the rapid growth and continued commercial success of our products. And, most importantly, we are proud that through our efforts to deliver innovative therapeutics, we are improving the lives of patients who are suffering from life-threatening diseases.
Infectious diseases, in particular, have been the focus of our efforts and the foundation of our business for nearly two decades. This year we leveraged our strong financial position to broaden our product portfolio beyond infectious diseases and position the company for long-term growth. Our acquisitions of Corus Pharma, Inc. and Myogen, Inc., and their investigational and commercial products, will be the cornerstone of our new respiratory and cardiopulmonary portfolio – expanding our ability to fulfill our strategic objective of developing and commercializing novel products that deliver therapeutic advancements to physicians and patients around the world.
