US biotech Gilead Sciences said on Thursday it wanted to increase the rate of production of remdesivir, an antiviral that could be used as a drug for patients with Covid-19 disease. The company, which released its quarterly results on Thursday, estimates that more than 140,000 remdesivir treatments could be produced by the end of May, 1 million before December and several million in 2021.
The experimental antiviral would help hospitalized Covid-19 patients recover faster, according to preliminary results of a large clinical trial released Wednesday by the American Institutes of Health (NIH). Preliminary results do not show, however, whether the drug saves lives. A Chinese study on the drug has also been inconclusive.
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"Our current priority is both to continue our work on remdesivir and our commitments to the people who depend on our drugs," said Gilead boss Daniel O'Day in a statement. Biotech says it spent about $ 50 million on research and development for remdesivir in the first quarter. With global sales of $ 5.5 billion between January and March (+ 5% year on year), Gilead did a little better than market expectations.
Net profit is $ 1.6 billion. Reported per share and excluding exceptional items, they were 1.68 dollars, better than the analysts' forecast of 1.57 dollars. Revenues benefited "from an estimated $ 200 million linked to the increase in consumer buying habits and medical prescriptions, mainly in the United States, due to the coronavirus," the company said in a communicated.
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If it ensures that its activity in the first quarter was not particularly burdened by the pandemic, the biotech has been more measured for the coming months. "The Covid-19 could affect the company in the short term due to factors such as fewer patients with access to treatment against HIV and hepatitis C, but the impact of such developments is uncertain" , Gilead believes.
The group also considers that the heavy investments to develop and produce remdesivir could put it at financial risk. On Wall Street, Gilead's share fell 1.5% in electronic trading after the close.