Hepatitis C Treatment Drugs To Decide The Share Prices Of Gilead Sciences Inc.

The share prices of Gilead Sciences Inc. dropped by -0.78 percent as recorded at the end of the trading session. The 22 brokerage firms made a consensus forecast of the per share adjusted earnings outlook at $2.61/share, which is comparable with the $3.32 values recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.

The net percentage of change in the share prices over the past year is calculated to be -18.25 percent. The highest hit of the trading range was $103.1, while the lowest hit was recorded at $70.58, Voice Registrar reported.

In the meantime, on Jan. 20, 2017, the company has made a public announcement regarding the successful validation of its Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for the once-daily, single tablet hepatitis C treatment drug regimen. The treatment includes sofosbuvir 400 mg, velpatasvir 100 mg and voxilaprevir 100 mg (SOF/VEL/VOX). The investigational treatment regimen is now being assessed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), according to Streetwise Reports.

The application for the approval of the (SOF/VEL/VOX) hepatitis C drug treatment plan is backed up with the results obtained from two phase 3 clinical studies. The trials evaluated the efficacy of 12 weeks administration of fixed-dose combination of SOF/VEL/VOX, in the treatment of hepatitis C patients with viral genotypes 1-6. The experimental subjects also included patients who were unresponsive to other treatment regimens, such as the NS5A inhibitor-based drugs.

The results obtained from the studies revealed that 97 percent of the patients who were treated with the (SOF/VEL/VOX) therapy reached the primary efficacy endpoint required for the sustained viral response after a period of 12 weeks, European Pharmaceutical Review reported.

Norbert Bischofberger, Executive VP of R&D and CSO at Gilead Sciences Inc., said that, "Direct-acting antiviral treatments have transformed our ability to treat hepatitis C; however, for some patients who have failed to achieve a cure with these regimens, effective and well-tolerated therapies are still needed." He further explained that the current application, which is still under assessment, is an indication of the company's commitment for providing better treatment options for the deadly disease, even for them who have already failed to achieve any success through the direct acting antiviral therapy.

It will be interesting to watch how the latest announcement made by the company affects its share prices and financial future of Gilead Sciences Inc.