Gilead Sciences Inc. cautioned investors that there is “significant uncertainty” about how the coronavirus pandemic will affect its business, even as its drug to treat Covid-19 appears headed toward a swift U.S. authorization.
There is ample enthusiasm for remdesivir, an antiviral medication that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said on Wednesday appears to have a positive impact on patients after early clinical trials. Anthony Fauci, the head of the NIAID, said the clinical trial offered “quite good news.”
The company said that it has taken significant steps to expand manufacturing of the drug, with more than 140,000 doses of remdesivir expected be manufactured by the end of next month, and more than a million expected by the end of the year.
Shares of Gilead, which had gained 29% this year through Thursday’s close on hopes that remdesivir will help ease the strain of the pandemic, were down 1.6% in after-hours trading.
27,327 in U.S.Most new cases today
-15% Change in MSCI World Index of global stocks since Wuhan lockdown, Jan. 23
-1.106 Change in U.S. treasury bond yield since Wuhan lockdown, Jan. 23
-0.5% Global GDP Tracker (annualized), March