Deutsche Bank Comments on C-WORTHy Data vs. Gilead's (GILD) Regimens

Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating on Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) with a price target of $142. Analyst Robyn Karnauskas commented on Merck's (NYSE: MRK) C-WORTHy data vs. Gilead's regimens.

"Comparing this to Merck’s data we saw generally higher SVRs with a shorter duration of treatment in Gilead’s regime. Co-infected pts seemed to do better on GILD’s Harvoni. While the C-WORTHy data showed that high SVRS are possible in these difficult-to-treat populations, we note that higher durations are likely required w/ Riba. We do not think that docs will be confident in Merck’s combo w/o Riba at shorter durations," said Karnauskas.

"These data support our beliefs that Gilead’s HCV franchise will remain dominant LT in the difficult-to-treat patients. We model 55% mkt share LT in refractory patients, 20% for ABBV and 25% for other regimens including Merck’s. We see Merck’s combo potentially launching in 2016. We also note that the co has breakthrough therapy designation for this combo, which could accelerate FDA review time. While we see the patient mix shifting to more naïve pts vs. experienced pts (as experienced pts are cured), experienced pts account for 49%-36% (2017-2022) of our treatment mix. We see GILD HCV sales at ~$7.8B in 2022, declining from ~$12B as competition emerges.," added the analyst.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Gilead Sciences click here. For more ratings news on Gilead Sciences click here.

Shares of Gilead Sciences closed at $107.02 yesterday.

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