Gilead's Viread: Smoothing the Path to Success

Gilead's successful European rollout of Viread was helped by the homogeneity and high concentration of the European HIV treatment market. Viread has in turn catalyzed the integration of Gilead's hitherto fragmented European operations. The US biotech can now exploit its strong European network to secure in-licensing candidates and maximize profits from in-house follow-ons.

As a first step in its ambition to become a global biotech player, Gilead Sciences Inc. laid the foundations of its now well-established European business through buying NeXstar in 1999 [See Deal]. (See "Gilead's Global Logic," IN VIVO, March 2002 Also see "Gilead's Global Logic" - In Vivo, 1 March, 2002..) What it got wasn't perfect. NeXstar comprised a series of poorly integrated businesses, each following a different strategy and making individual product submissions locally. But it did have anti-fungal treatment amphotericin B (AmBisome), and a keen sales force that was prepared to stay on, given Gilead's willingness to invest.

Most importantly, Gilead acquired a base onto which it could build a new sales team for its own forthcoming HIV...

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