Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

GILD JNJ: Thanks, jbog. Note that Feuerstein does not say the Truvada patent can be extended (it can’t, of course); rather, he says a new Truvada+TMC-278 combo pill can provide GILD protection from competition by Truvada generics starting in 2017. This is helpful to GILD, of course, but it’s not a full-fledged victory for GILD because generic Truvada will limit what GILD can charge for its new combo pill to some degree.

Moreover, TMC278 is not even approved yet, so we do not yet know if the Truvada+TMC-278 combo will even make it to market. All told, I think it’s a little premature to be implying, as Feuerstein did, that today’s deal with JNJ makes the expiration of the Truvada patent in 2017 immaterial.