Gilead Sciences (GILD) Risk Factors

If we are unable to launch commercially successful new products or new indications for existing products, our business will be adversely impacted. The launch of commercially successful products is necessary to grow our business, cover our substantial R&D expenses, and offset revenue losses when existing products lose market share due to factors such as competition and loss of patent exclusivity. There are many difficulties and uncertainties inherent in drug development and the introduction of new products. The product development cycle is characterized by significant investments of resources, long lead times and unpredictable outcomes due to the nature of developing medicines for human use. We expend significant time and resources on our product pipeline as well as on preparations for potential commercial launch without any assurance that we will recoup our investments or that our efforts will be commercially successful. A high rate of failure is inherent in the discovery and development of new products, and failure can occur at any point in the process, including late in the process after substantial investment. Such failures have had, and may have in the future, a negative impact on our business and financial results, including as a result of our inability to recover R&D, clinical trial, acquisition-related and other expenses incurred in connection with the development of and launch preparations for our product candidates. For example, we enter into commitments to purchase materials and supplies in anticipation of the potential manufacture and sale of new product candidates, and in the event the development, approval or launch of these product candidates is delayed or otherwise unsuccessful, we may experience excess inventory that needs to be written down or other costs and expenses resulting from such commitments.

The products we develop must be approved for marketing and sale by regulatory authorities and, once approved, are subject to extensive regulation by FDA, EMA and comparable regulatory agencies in other countries. We have filed, and anticipate that we will continue to file, for marketing approval in additional countries and for additional indications and products. These and any future marketing applications we file may not be approved by the regulatory authorities on a timely basis, or at all. For example, in October 2022, we announced that FDA issued a complete response letter for our Biologics License Application for bulevirtide for the treatment of adults with hepatitis delta virus infection. Even if marketing approval is granted for these products, there may be significant limitations on their use. We cannot state with certainty when or whether any of our product candidates under development will be approved or launched; whether we will be able to develop, license or acquire additional product candidates or products; or whether any products, once launched, will be commercially successful. Further, how we manufacture and sell our products is subject to extensive regulation and review. For example, under FDA rules, we are often required to conduct post-approval clinical studies to assess a known serious risk, signals of serious risk or to identify an unexpected serious risk. In certain circumstances, we may be required to implement a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program for our products, which could include a medication guide, patient package insert, a communication plan to healthcare providers, restrictions on distribution or use of a product and other elements FDA deems necessary to assure safe use of the drug. Discovery of previously unknown problems with our marketed products or product candidates, including serious safety, resistance or drug interaction issues, or problems with our manufacturing, safety reporting or promotional activities, may result in regulatory approvals being delayed, denied or granted with significant restrictions on our products, including limitations on or the withdrawal of the products from the market. Failure to comply with these or other requirements imposed by FDA could result in significant civil monetary penalties, fines, suspensions of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products and criminal prosecutions.

Product Reimbursements Successful commercialization of our products depends, in part, on the availability and amount of third-party payer reimbursement for our products and related treatments and medical services in the markets where we sell our products. As our products mature, pricing pressures from private insurers and government payers often result in a reduction of the net product prices. Legislative and regulatory actions affecting government prescription drug procurement and reimbursement programs occur relatively frequently. We may be adversely impacted by any such legislative and regulatory actions, though it is difficult to predict the impact, if any, on the use and reimbursement of our products. Product Pricing, Discounts and Rebates In the U.S., the European Union ("EU") and other significant or potentially significant markets for our products and product candidates, government authorities and third-party payers are increasingly attempting to limit or regulate the price of medical products and services. The volume of drug pricing-related legislation has dramatically increased in recent years, including: - U.S. Congress has enacted laws requiring manufacturer refunds on certain amounts of discarded drug from single-use vials and eliminating the existing cap on Medicaid rebate amounts beginning in 2024. - U.S. Congress has enacted the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the "Act"), which, among other changes, (1) requires the Department of Health and Human Services to "negotiate" Medicare prices for certain drugs (starting with 10 drugs in 2026, adding 15 drugs in 2027 and 2028, and adding 20 drugs in 2029 and subsequent years), (2) imposes an inflation-based rebate on Medicare Part B utilization starting in 2023 and Part D utilization beginning October 1, 2022, and (3) restructures the Medicare Part D benefit to cap out-of-pocket expenses for Part D beneficiaries beginning in 2024 and, effective January 1, 2025, increases Part D plans' contributions in the catastrophic coverage phase and increases manufacturers' discount contributions across coverage phases such that manufacturers must pay a 10% discount in the initial coverage phase and a 20% discount in the catastrophic phase on drugs utilized by all Part D beneficiaries, including low income subsidy patients. In August 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") disclosed the Maximum Fair Prices ("MFP") of the first group of 10 drugs selected for the MFP determination process; if these prices are lower than the Medicaid Best Price, they could also affect the manufacturers' Medicaid rebate obligations and the 340B ceiling prices charged to covered entities. We continue to evaluate the potential impact of the Act on our business. CMS has issued a number of guidance documents, but it remains unclear how certain provisions of the Act will be implemented. Additional guidance, legislation or rulemaking may be issued that could change the scope or implementation of the Act. In addition, multiple manufacturers and trade organizations have challenged the Medicare "negotiation" provisions of the Act, and additional legal challenges may be filed in the future. While the full impact of the Act on our business and the pharmaceutical industry remains uncertain at this time, we anticipate that the Act will increase our payment obligations under the redesigned Part D discount program, limit the prices we can charge for our products, and increase the rebates we must provide government programs for our products, thereby reducing our profitability and negatively impacting our financial results. - Many state legislatures are considering, or have already passed into law, legislation that seeks to indirectly or directly regulate pharmaceutical drug pricing, such as requiring manufacturers to publicly report proprietary pricing information, creating review boards for prices, establishing drug payment limits, and encouraging the use of generic drugs. For example, in August 2023, the Colorado Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board ("PDAB") selected Genvoya for an affordability review, and subsequently determined that Genvoya was not unaffordable. Additional state PDABs have or may in the future undertake similar affordability reviews of our products. A finding that one of our products is unaffordable could lead to legislative action to designate an upper limit on the amount certain purchasers and payors can pay for our products. These initiatives and such other legislation may cause added pricing pressures on our products, and the resulting impact on our business is uncertain at this time. - Many countries outside the U.S., including the EU member states, have established complex and lengthy procedures to obtain price approvals and coverage reimbursement and periodically review their pricing and reimbursement decisions. The outcome of these reviews cannot be predicted and could have an adverse effect on the pricing and reimbursement of our medical products in the EU member states. Reductions in the pricing of our medical products in one member state could affect the price in other member states and have a negative impact on our financial results. A substantial portion of our product sales is subject to significant discounts from list price, including rebates that we may be required to pay state Medicaid agencies and discounts provided to covered entities under Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act ("340B"). Changes to the 340B program or the Medicaid program at the federal or state level could have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, the continued growth of the 340B program limits the prices we may charge on an increasing percentage of sales. Changes to the calculation of rebates under the Medicaid program could substantially increase our Medicaid rebate obligations and decrease the prices we charge 340B-covered entities. In March 2022, we implemented a contract pharmacy integrity initiative for our branded hepatitis C virus ("HCV") products. This integrity initiative does not involve any products from Asegua Therapeutics LLC. Our integrity initiative requires covered entities that enter into 340B bill to/ship to arrangements with contract pharmacies for our branded HCV products to provide claims level data for units dispensed from such contract pharmacies; covered entities without an in-house pharmacy that choose not to participate in the initiative can designate a single contract pharmacy for shipment. Certain manufacturers that have implemented other contract pharmacy integrity programs have received enforcement letters from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") asserting that those programs violate the 340B statute, have been referred to the HHS Office of Inspector General for assessment of civil monetary penalties, and have been subject to administrative dispute resolution proceedings brought on behalf of covered entities. Some of these manufacturers are challenging HHS' position in litigation. Certain states have also enacted laws requiring manufacturers to provide 340B pricing through contract pharmacy arrangements, and additional states may adopt similar laws; we believe these laws, which are being challenged in ongoing litigation, are invalid but we have carved out covered entities in certain states from our integrity initiative while litigation challenging these laws proceeds. We also believe that our integrity initiative complies with the requirements of the 340B statute. However, additional legal or legislative developments with respect to the 340B program, including potential litigation with HHS or other stakeholders, may negatively impact our ability to implement or continue our integrity initiative. In addition, standard reimbursement structures do not always adequately reimburse for innovative therapies. For example, beginning in fiscal year 2021, CMS established a new severity-adjusted diagnosis-related group ("DRG") 018 for Medicare inpatient reimbursement of CAR T-cell products such as Yescarta and Tecartus. While the new DRG has a significantly higher base payment amount than the prior DRG 016, the payment available may not be sufficient to reimburse some hospitals for their cost of care for patients receiving Yescarta and Tecartus. When reimbursement is not aligned well to account for treatment costs, Medicare beneficiaries may be denied access as this misalignment could impact the willingness of some hospitals to offer the therapy and of doctors to recommend the therapy. Additionally, in the EU, there are barriers to reimbursement in individual countries that could limit the uptake of Yescarta and Tecartus. Moreover, we estimate the rebates we will be required to pay in connection with sales during a particular quarter based on claims data from prior quarters. In the U.S., actual rebate claims are typically made by payers one to three quarters in arrears. Actual claims and payments may vary significantly from our estimates.

Many of our operations and facilities, including those essential to our manufacturing, R&D and commercialization/distribution activities, are located in regions subject to natural or man-made disasters, such as climate change, earthquakes, hurricanes, rising sea levels and flooding, fires, extreme heat, drought or other extreme weather conditions, or efforts taken by third parties to prevent or mitigate such disasters, such as public safety power shutoffs and facility shutdowns. The severity and frequency of weather-related events has been amplified, and is expected to continue to be amplified, by climate change. Such natural disasters have caused, and in the future may cause, damage to and/or disrupt our operations, which may result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. For example, our facility in Cork, Ireland, where we conduct commercial manufacturing, packaging and labeling and perform quality control testing and final release of many of our products, temporarily suspended on-site operations as a result of the flooding caused by Storm Babet in October 2023. Additionally, our corporate headquarters in Foster City and certain R&D and manufacturing facilities are located in California, a seismically active region. Although we have business continuity plans and contingencies in place and conduct periodic assessments of our natural disaster risk as part of our overall enterprise risk management program, a major earthquake or other natural disaster can result in significant recovery time and a prolonged interruption to our operational and business activities. We may be required to incur significant costs to remedy the effects of such natural disasters and to resume or restore our operations, which could adversely impact us. Our suppliers and third-party manufacturers and corporate partners face similar risks, and any disruption to their operations could have an adverse effect on our manufacturing and supply chain. Also, see risks under the headings "We may face manufacturing difficulties, delays or interruptions, including at our third-party manufacturers and corporate partners" and "We may not be able to obtain materials or supplies necessary to conduct clinical trials or to manufacture and sell our products, which could limit our ability to generate revenues as well as increase our expenses." In addition, growing concern regarding climate change has resulted in an evolving legal and regulatory landscape, with new requirements enacted to prevent, mitigate or adapt to the implications of climate change. These regulations, which can differ across jurisdictions, subject Gilead to many transitional risks, including, for example, new or expanded carbon pricing or taxes, increased compliance costs, restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, investment in new technologies, increased carbon disclosure and transparency, investments in data gathering and reporting systems, upgrades of facilities to meet new building codes and the redesign of utility systems, which could increase the company's operating costs, including the cost of electricity and energy. Our suppliers and third-party manufacturers and corporate partners face similar transition risks and may pass along any increased costs to us.