Stribild Introduction to Reinforce HIV/AIDS Revenues as Key Patents Expire

Thursday 29 November 2012, Amsterdam

Gilead Science’s combination drug Stribild (previously known as the “Quad pill”) is expected to bolster the HIV/AIDS therapeutics market as a number of significant medications go off-patent over the next few years, states the new report.

Forecasts from the latest, "HIV/AIDS Therapeutics Market to 2018 - Despite Major Patent Expiries, Increased Uptake of Once-a-Day Fixed-dose Combination Drugs to Drive Growth" report, indicate that the global HIV/AIDS therapeutics market will increase in value at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7% between the years 2011 and 2018, from $13.5 bn to $21.8 bn.

As a consequence of the on-going patent-cliff, this predicted growth rate is less than the market experienced in previous years. Between 2004 and 2011, the market experienced a more impressive CAGR of 12.5%, but due to the impending expiry of key medications, including Sustiva and Reyataz (both produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb) in 2014 and 2017 respectively, a more modest increase is predicted.

However, the market is not without promise. The multi-class fixed dose combination tablet from Gilead Sciences, Atripla, saw global revenue increase from $2.9 bn in 2010 to $3.2 bn last year, while potential blockbuster Stribild was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in August of this year and is expected to make a major impact.

Gilead announced Stribild's initial price as $28,500, which is one-third greater than that of Atripla, but with impressive efficacy and strong patient compliance, analysis do not expect this higher cost to be a significant barrier to widespread use.

Last year’s sales figures show Gilead as being the greatest revenue shareholder of the world’s top seven markets, with 36%. With less than half of that number, Bristol-Myers Squibb came second with 16%, while ViiV Healthcare completed the top three with a 13% segment.