HIV drug helps profit surge at Gilead
The US firm produces “Atripla” at its Cork plant for HIV and AIDS patients that provides a combination of three medicines in a single daily pill.
Gilead is the world’s largest maker of HIV drugs and last year Gilead’s worldwide sales of Atripla totalled $2.9bn.
Gilead Sciences Ltd at the IDA Business and Technology Park at Carrigtohill also produces another Single Tablet Regimen (STR) for HIV patients, Eviplera.
Accounts recently filed with the Companies Office show revenues at the firm increased by 11% from $2.47bn to $2.7bn with pre-tax profits increasing from $1.7m to $55.1m.
Gilead’s Cork base is the company’s main international distribution operation and according to the directors’ report for Gilead Sciences Ltd, “sales growth for the year is primarily due to an increase in the volume of sales of HIV products”.
The report states: “The company’s activities continued to grow during 2010 as sales of existing products increased. The outlook for the coming financial year is of continued development.”
The revenues recorded by the Cork-based unit represent 34% of Gilead’s global revenues of $7.95bn. Last week, Gilead announced an $11bn deal to acquire biotechnology firm, Pharmasset. Worldwide, Gilead employs 4,200 people.
Numbers employed at Gilead Sciences Ltd at the end of December last were 173 and a company spokesman said yesterday that numbers employed here now are over 200.
Along with manufacturing drugs at its Cork base — which it established in 2007 — Gilead also bases its European Shared Services Centre there, where it processes financial activities for its European operations.
