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Gilead Announces Global Resolution of Bictegravir Patent Dispute with ViiV Healthcare

Foster City, Calif., February 1, 2022 – Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) today announced the company has reached a global resolution with ViiV Healthcare for all pending or potential claims related to Gilead’s sales of the HIV treatment Biktarvy® (bictegravir 50 mg, emtricitabine 200 mg, and tenofovir alafenamide 25 mg tablets). Under the terms of the settlement agreement, ViiV Healthcare will dismiss all pending lawsuits relating to bictegravir, the novel compound in Biktarvy. Gilead will make a one-time payment of $1.25 billion and an ongoing royalty payment of 3% until 2027 on future sales of Biktarvy and on the bictegravir component of any future bictegravir-containing products sold in the U.S.

About Biktarvy

In the United States, Biktarvy is indicated as a complete single-tablet regimen for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adult and pediatric patients weighing at least 14 kg who are new to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment or to replace the current ARV regimen in those who are virologically suppressed (HIV-1 RNA <50 copies per mL) on a stable ARV regimen with no history of treatment failure and no known resistance to any component of Biktarvy. In October 2021, the U.S. FDA approved a low-dose tablet formulation of Biktarvy (bictegravir 30 mg, emtricitabine 120 mg, and tenofovir alafenamide 15 mg tablets) for pediatric patients weighing at least 14 kg to less than 25 kg. Biktarvy does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

U.S. Important Safety Information for Biktarvy

BOXED WARNING: POST TREATMENT ACUTE EXACERBATION OF HEPATITIS B

  • Severe acute exacerbations of hepatitis B have been reported in patients who are coinfected with HIV-1 and HBV and have discontinued products containing emtricitabine (FTC) and/or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), and may occur with discontinuation of Biktarvy. Closely monitor hepatic function with both clinical and laboratory follow-up for at least several months in patients who are coinfected with HIV-1 and HBV and discontinue Biktarvy. If appropriate, anti-hepatitis B therapy may be warranted.

Contraindications

  • Coadministration: Do not use Biktarvy with dofetilide or rifampin.

Warnings and precautions

  • Drug interactions: See Contraindications and Drug Interactions sections. Consider the potential for drug interactions prior to and during Biktarvy therapy and monitor for adverse reactions.
  • Immune reconstitution syndrome, including the occurrence of autoimmune disorders with variable time to onset, has been reported.
  • New onset or worsening renal impairment: Postmarketing cases of renal impairment, including acute renal failure, proximal renal tubulopathy (PRT), and Fanconi syndrome have been reported with tenofovir alafenamide (TAF)–containing products. Do not initiate Biktarvy in patients with estimated creatinine clearance (CrCl) <30 mL/min except in virologically suppressed adults <15 mL/min who are receiving chronic hemodialysis. Patients with impaired renal function and/or taking nephrotoxic agents (including NSAIDs) are at increased risk of renal-related adverse reactions. Discontinue Biktarvy in patients who develop clinically significant decreases in renal function or evidence of Fanconi syndrome.
    Renal monitoring: Prior to or when initiating Biktarvy and during therapy, assess serum creatinine, CrCl, urine glucose, and urine protein in all patients as clinically appropriate. In patients with chronic kidney disease, assess serum phosphorus.
  • Lactic acidosis and severe hepatomegaly with steatosis: Fatal cases have been reported with the use of nucleoside analogs, including FTC and TDF. Discontinue Biktarvy if clinical or laboratory findings suggestive of lactic acidosis or pronounced hepatotoxicity develop, including hepatomegaly and steatosis in the absence of marked transaminase elevations.

Adverse reactions

  • Most common adverse reactions (incidence ≥5%; all grades) in clinical studies through week 144 were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%).

Drug interactions

  • Prescribing information: Consult the full prescribing information for Biktarvy for more information on Contraindications, Warnings, and potentially significant drug interactions, including clinical comments.
  • Enzymes/transporters: Drugs that induce P-gp or induce both CYP3A and UGT1A1 can substantially decrease the concentration of components of Biktarvy. Drugs that inhibit P-gp, BCRP, or inhibit both CYP3A and UGT1A1 may significantly increase the concentrations of components of Biktarvy. Biktarvy can increase the concentration of drugs that are substrates of OCT2 or MATE1.
  • Drugs affecting renal function: Coadministration of Biktarvy with drugs that reduce renal function or compete for active tubular secretion may increase concentrations of FTC and tenofovir and the risk of adverse reactions.

Dosage and administration

  • Dosage: Adult and pediatric patients weighing ≥25 kg: 1 tablet containing 50 mg bictegravir (BIC), 200 mg emtricitabine (FTC), and 25 mg tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) taken once daily with or without food. Pediatric patients weighing ≥14 kg to <25 kg: 1 tablet containing 30 mg BIC, 120 mg FTC, and 15 mg TAF taken once daily with or without food. For these pediatric patients, who are unable to swallow a whole tablet, the tablet can be split and each part taken separately as long as all parts are ingested within approximately 10 minutes.
  • Renal impairment: For patients weighing ≥25 kg, not recommended in patients with CrCl 15 to <30 mL/min, or <15 mL/min who are not receiving chronic hemodialysis, or <15 mL/min who are receiving chronic hemodialysis and have no antiretroviral treatment history. For patients weighing ≥14 kg to <25 kg, not recommended in patients with CrCl <30 mL/min.
  • Hepatic impairment: Not recommended in patients with severe hepatic impairment.
  • Prior to or when initiating: Test patients for HBV infection.
  • Prior to or when initiating, and during treatment: As clinically appropriate, assess serum creatinine, CrCl, urine glucose, and urine protein in all patients. In patients with chronic kidney disease, assess serum phosphorus.

Pregnancy and lactation

  • Pregnancy: There is insufficient human data on the use of Biktarvy during pregnancy. Dolutegravir, another integrase inhibitor, has been associated with neural tube defects.  Discuss the benefit-risk of using Biktarvy during pregnancy and conception. An Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry (APR) has been established. Available data from the APR for FTC shows no difference in the rates of birth defects compared with a US reference population.
  • Lactation: Women infected with HIV-1 should be instructed not to breastfeed, due to the potential for HIV-1 transmission.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis and cancer. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.

 

For more than 30 years, Gilead has been a leading innovator in the field of HIV, driving advances in treatment, prevention, and cure research. Today, millions of people living with HIV globally receive antiretroviral therapy provided by Gilead or one of the company’s manufacturing partners.

Forward-Looking Statements
This communication includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, including Gilead’s ability to obtain and defend its patents and other intellectual property rights and to operate without infringing upon the patents or other proprietary rights of third parties; and potential liability and increased expenses from ongoing and future legal proceedings relating to Gilead’s products and operations. These and other risks, uncertainties and factors are described in detail in Gilead’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and is cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Gilead, and Gilead assumes no obligation and disclaims any intent to update any such forward-looking statements.

U.S. Prescribing Information for Biktarvy, including BOXED WARNING, is available at www.gilead.com.

For more information about Gilead, please visit the company’s website at www.gilead.com, follow Gilead on Twitter (@Gilead Sciences) or call Gilead Public Affairs at 1-800-GILEAD-5 or 1-650-574-3000.

Biktarvy, Gilead and the Gilead logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies.