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FOSTER CITY, Calif. & PRAGUE, May 05, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:GILD) today announced it has extended its funding support of the Gilead Sciences Research Centre at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic for an additional five years. Gilead will provide a $1.15 million annual donation to IOCB in order to continue to fund the Research Centre's operations and ongoing research efforts. In July 2006, Gilead announced an initial five-year annual donation to IOCB for the establishment and support of the Research Centre. Gilead has the first option to license inventions that result from the Research Centre's scientific programs and drug discovery efforts.
In 1991 and 1992, Gilead entered into license agreements with IOCB in Prague and the Rega Institute for Medical Research, Katholic University in Leuven, Belgium that cover a broad range of biologically active nucleotide analogues. Several of these nucleotide compounds discovered through a collaborative research effort between Dr. Antonín Holý, IOCB, and Dr. Erik De Clercq, Rega Institute, were developed by Gilead, resulting in Vistide(R) (cidofovir injection) for the treatment of CMV retinitis in AIDS patients, Viread(R) (tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for the treatment of HIV and chronic hepatitis B infection and Hepsera(R) (adefovir dipivoxil) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
"It has been 25 years since IOCB in collaboration with the Rega Institute made the initial seminal discovery of the promising novel class of broad-spectrum antiviral nucleotide analogue compounds that, ultimately, have helped advance patient care for millions of people with life-threatening diseases," said John C. Martin, Chairman and CEO, Gilead Sciences. "We are proud of our ongoing collaboration with IOCB and are pleased to support the Research Centre's leadership role in exploring the important field of nucleotide analogues as potential therapeutics for infectious diseases and other unmet medical needs."
"Gilead Sciences Research Centre in Prague is an excellent opportunity for us to collaborate with an established and productive industry partner. It opens up new horizons for applied research at the Institute and at the same time extends the legacy from the past excellent collaboration between Dr. Holý's team and Gilead. The generous support from Gilead helps us search for new scientific paradigms and approaches that may help address existing medical problems and also allows us to focus on new exploratory research avenues that would otherwise be difficult to pursue effectively," said Dr. Zdenek Havlas, the Director of IOCB.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative therapeutics in areas of unmet medical need. The company's mission is to advance the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases worldwide. Headquartered in Foster City, California, Gilead has operations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.gilead.com.
About IOCB
The Institute performs fundamental research in organic chemistry, biochemistry and related disciplines oriented mostly to medicinal, material and environmental applications. The Institute is involved in university level education and supervises graduate and post-doctoral studies.
Forward-Looking Statement
This press release 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. These risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks are described in detail in Gilead's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Gilead, and Gilead assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Gilead:Susan Hubbard, +1-650-522-5715 (Investors)Erin Rau, +1-650-522-5635 (Media)orIOCB:Irena Krumlova, +042-731447861 (Media)
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