Gilead Cites 'More Sophisticated' Process As Pressure For A Major Deal Increases

The ongoing decline of its hepatitis C revenues has put additional pressure on Gilead Sciences Inc. to make a significant purchase that might boost its forward momentum – something that apparently is as clear inside the virology powerhouse as outside – but recent commentary by CEO John Milligan leaves doubt as to whether the firm is willing to greatly change the parameters of what it seeks in a transaction.

Milligan spoke on March 14 at the Barclay's Global Healthcare Conference, during which analyst Geoff Meacham tried to draw him into a discussion of a "Dear Management and Board" letter that Meacham circulated the day before, urging Gilead to look outside its core therapeutic areas and perhaps loosen its expectations for return-on-investment in evaluating available merger-and-acquisition possibilities. Milligan didn't delve deep into Gilead's deal strategy, but acknowledged the recent hire of former Novartis AG exec Alessandro Riva to lead the company's oncology unit as an indication of how its M&A thinking has evolved