Gilead Sciences Inc pharmaceutical company is seen after they announced a Phase 3 Trial of the investigational antiviral drug Remdesivir in patients with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in
Gilead Sciences Inc pharmaceutical company is seen after they announced a Phase 3 Trial of the investigational antiviral drug Remdesivir in patients with severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Oceanside, California, U. Reuters / Mike Blake

Gilead Sciences Inc on Thursday said its first-quarter revenue rose 3%, helped by increased sales of HIV drug Biktarvy and COVID antiviral drug Veklury.

The biotech company said adjusted earnings rose 4% from a year ago to $2.12 per share, topping the average analyst estimate of $1.81, as compiled by Refinitiv.

Revenue for the quarter rose to $6.6 billion from $6.4 billion, ahead of Wall Street estimates of $6.27 billion.

Gilead's HIV drug sales rose 2% to $3.7 billion, slightly ahead of Wall Street estimates.

"Biktarvy delivered strong 18% year-over-year revenue growth, and oncology sales increased by 60% year-over-year, driven by increased demand for Trodelvy and our cell therapy products," Chief Executive Daniel O'Day said in a statement.

Sales of Gilead's new cancer drug Trodelvy totaled $146 million for the quarter.

Sales of the COVID-19 treatment remdesivir, which is sold under the brand name Veklury, rose 5% to $1.5 billion, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.15 billion.

For full-year 2022, the California-based company said it still expects adjusted earnings per share of $6.20 to $6.70 on product sales of $23.8 billion to $24.3 billion.

Net income for the quarter fell to $12 million from $1.72 billion mainly because of a $2.7 billion research and development impairment related to assets acquired by Gilead from Immunomedics in 2020.

Gilead shares were down about half a percentage point at $61.22 in after hours trading.