Topic: How To Invest

My first ever question for you, Pat: What do you think of Gilead Sciences? There is excitement about their new drug, Sofosbuvir, for hepatitis C. There is a huge market for this drug in hepatitis C treatment. Recent published studies have been very favourable. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Gilead Sciences, $52.23, symbol GILD on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap: $79.7 billion; www.gilead.com), discovers, develops and markets treatments for viral diseases. The company has a number of drugs on the market, including AmBisome (an antifungal agent), Emtriva (for HIV), Tamiflu (influenza), Vistide (for cytomegalovirus retinitis—or an inflammation of the retina—in AIDS patients) and Hepsera (for hepatitis B). Hepatitis refers to inflammation of the liver, as well as a group of viral infections that affect the liver. The most common types are hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer and the most common reason why patients need liver transplants. Gilead has developed a wide range of treatments to counteract hepatitis C. This is one of the major reasons why the shares have more than doubled in the past year. The market for hepatitis treatments is huge. There are over 150 million people worldwide suffering from one of the hepatitis viruses…