Gilead Writes Down Kite Buy As Yescarta Sales Flatten Out

 
• By Joseph Haas
  
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Gilead takes $800m impairment charge against Kite acquisition a year after an $820m write-down. Kite and Yescarta are appear to be afterthoughts in discussions of Gilead’s portfolio and pipeline.

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Yescarta sales remain flat but Gilead's HIV franchise is setting sales records

Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s fourth quarter and full-year 2019 earnings call on 4 February was what the company did not talk about – an $800m pre-tax impairment charge it took in the fourth quarter related to its acquisition of Kite Pharma Inc. While the lymphoma treatment Yescarta, the centerpiece of the deal, posted flat quarter-over-quarter sales growth, mentions of Kite were scant during the hour-plus call.

Earlier this year, CEO Daniel O’Day spoke about Gilead’s potential to develop new growth-driving products through both internal and external...

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