Gilead's Next "Mount Everest" Drug Bictegravir: Will Merck & GlaxoSmithKline Undercut It?

Glead Sciences sees #HIV drug bictegravir as its "Mount Everest", but competitors like #GlaxoSmithKline and #Merck will be able to price their competing drugs 10% to 55% cheaper, Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges said Thursday.

The analyst noted Merck and #Glaxo are working on HIV regimens that include generic drugs. Gilead, on the other hand, "has established premium pricing for their fixed-dose combinations based on all-branded component pricing," Geoffrey Porges wrote.

As a result, #Gilead will grapple to gain share in #HIV — a much-needed sector as its profitable #Hepatitis C franchise continues to diminish. Next two years and $40+ billion in sales, Gilead's Hepatitis C drugs sales declined in 2016. The biotech is expected to further drops in 2017.

Gilead has dominated the HIV landscape over the past five years, Porges said. Their #bictegravir-based formulas are likely to be the "gold standard" for first- and second-line HIV therapies, Porges wrote.

Gilead is also experiencing competitive pressure from the likes of Merck and #AbbVie. Merck has successfully fought off patent litigation vs. Gilead with its HIV drug #Zepatier. AbbVie is set to launch a next-generation asset in 2018.