On some negative news about one of its investigational programs, the stock of pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) took some hits on Tuesday. Investors traded it down by more than 2%, comparing unfavorably to the 0.6% gain of the benchmark S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC).
The FDA puts on the red light
That morning, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered a halt to Gilead’s testing of a two-drug combination to treat human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV), the cause of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
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The regulator ordered the company to pause its current trials of the pair, GS-1720 and GS-4182, after some participants were found to have low levels of CD4+ T-cells (a type of white blood cell). It was unclear what triggered the deficiencies.
Gilead was putting the two drugs through their paces in a series of clinical trials, which were at various stages. The ones in the mid-to-late cycles were testing the pair against its currently commercialized HIV pill, Biktarvy.
GS-4182 is a pill version of the company’s HIV treatment lenacapavir (sold in commercial form as Sunlenca). GS-1720 is a drug in development that is administered once per week.
In an article on the FDA’s move published by Reuters, the news agency wrote that Gilead stated it has numerous other HIV combination treatments under development that are not affected by the agency’s hold.
A drop in the bucket
Given that, the pause mandated by the FDA doesn’t feel like a monster setback. We should also bear in mind that not only is Gilead actively developing next-generation HIV treatments, it also has quite a wide pipeline, spanning 58 investigational programs.
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Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
