Investors were jumping for joy today as Gilead Sciences
A phase 2 trial of the company's experimental Quad pill "met the statistical criteria of non-inferiority" compared to its current offering Atripla. Basically, the Quad and Atripla worked the same at reducing HIV levels in patients after 24 weeks.
"But wait," you say, "doesn't the Quad have to beat the current standard to be meaningful for Gilead?" No, the Quad pill has one advantage for Gilead even if it isn't an advantage for patients: Gilead owns all four of the drugs. Atripla is a combination of Gilead's Truvada and Bristol-Myers Squibb's
Teaming up to create superior drugs isn't necessarily a bad thing. Pfizer
Gilead is testing GS 9350 in combination with other drugs to see if it can boost their performance as well. The drug is currently in a head-to-head trial against Abbott Labs'
A positive result might mean signing up a few more partners and shared revenue on the combined drugs, but investors should take the revenue any way they can.