Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Reuters NewMedia - December 1, 2006
Lewis Krauskopf
Atripla won U.S. approval as the first once-a-day AIDS pill in July, offering a potentially convenient alternative to patients who juggle medicine cocktails.
Atripla combines Gilead's Truvada -- itself a combination of two older company pills -- with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (BMY.N: Quote, Profile , Research) Sustiva.
Gilead CEO John Martin said third-quarter data show that 75 percent of patients now take medicines that involve Truvada as an initial treatment, including use of Atripla.
"First Truvada, then Atripla, has allowed our two products to be dominant in first-line therapy," Martin told Reuters in an interview.
Martin, who was at the Nasdaq in Times Square for opening bell ceremonies on World AIDS Day, said the launch of both products "has been faster than most expectations."
Combination products not only are helping grow the biotechnology company's business, but are sparking more patients to seek therapy, Martin said.
About 8 percent more patients sought treatment in 2005, compared with a 3 percent rise the previous year, he said. Martin noted that 2005 marked the first full year of sales of Truvada, which won U.S. approval in August 2004.
"Having a product that allows for easier care and compliance will actually stimulate more patients to go on to therapy," Martin said.
Gilead's sales of Viread and Emtriva -- whose individual molecules are components of the combination drugs -- both declined in the third quarter.
Considered both individually and in combination, however, the main ingredient in Viread, known as tenofovir, became the top-selling AIDS treatment in the United States earlier this year, Martin said.
"We're perfectly fine with those (individual drugs) going down if the molecules' share keeps going up," Martin said.
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