Gilead Sciences reports strong growth in Q1 2014

Gilead Sciences has announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2014, a period marked by significant growth for the company.

During the three months, the firm's total revenues came to $5 billion (2.98 billion pounds), almost doubling the $2.53 billion figure from the first quarter of 2013. The strong performance of its antiviral business accounted for the majority of this growth.

The key driver of this improvement was the launch of Sovaldi, an oral nucleotide analogue polymerase inhibitor for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infections in adults, which launched in December 2013.

During the quarter, the drug generated revenues of $2.27 billion. This was complemented by increased sales of other strategically important antiviral products such as Stribild and Complera/Eviplera, while its cardiovascular portfolio also saw an improved performance.

This means the company remains on track to meet its financial targets for the full 2014 business year.