Gilead's Biktarvy Profile Rises As CHMP Backs Daily HIV Therapy

With its EU market approval expected soon and entry to the US market already in the bag, Gilead Sciences Inc.'s three-drug regime Biktarvy looks likely to win a competitive edge over ViiV Healthcare 's dolutegravir franchises in the near term - thanks to its better protection for patients with cardiovascular co-morbidities – but analysts say commercial advances by Biktarvy will come at the cost of reduced sales for the US group's older brands, and may ebb later amid fresh innovation.

The EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) on April 27 recommended marketing authorization for Biktarvy, which consists of the novel integrase inhibitor bictegravir, the second-generation nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitor TAF