KEY POINTS

  • Gilead Sciences provided a piece of good news about a cancer treatment.
  • It wasn’t the only drugmaker to develop such a breakthrough, though.

What’s going with Gilead Sciences stock

The week began on a high note, as Gilead Sciences stock jumped by more than 5% on Monday against the modest (0.4%) gain of the S&P 500 (^GSPC). The major pharmaceutical firm shared some positive news about a vital cancer medication.

Why we care

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) announced yesterday that Trodelvy, its breast cancer treatment, recorded “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” results in a phase 3 clinical trial. Trodelvy holds Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to treat specific breast and urothelial cancer forms. However, Trodelvy was also being evaluated as a combination therapy to treat patients with HR+/HER2-metastatic breast cancer. These recent findings could potentially increase the FDA’s indication for the drug’s use.

The company announced that the drug is safe and consistent with earlier studies. Gilead said it submitted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to the FDA for further approvals.

Gilead’s chief medical officer Merdad Parsey said in a press release that:

“[the trial results] are important for the breast cancer community, and we are encouraged by the potential this may have in helping patients who otherwise have limited alternatives.”

What now

On Monday, Gilead released new results from a breast cancer drug trial. However,  it wasn’t the only company with positive news. Rival AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) reported that its Enhertu – developed in partnership with Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo – performed just as well in a phase 3 study for a new indication.

According to AstraZeneca, its therapy also showed a “statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement,” for progression-free survival in patients who had previously received another cancer drug, Kadcyla, by Genentech. Of the two news items, investors were clearly more excited about Gilead. Investors bid up AstraZeneca’s share price by just 0.3% on the day, compared to Gilead’s 5%.

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