Gilead Widens Licensing Scope

Gilead Sciences has expanded the terms of a hepatitis C drug licensing deal with Indian generic drug producers to include GS-5816, an investigational compound that is undergoing Phase III clinical studies. The agreement also adds Biocon to the list of licensees, upping to eight the number of Indian drug companies allowed to produce and sell generic versions of Sovaldi, Gilead’s blockbuster hepatitis C drug, in 91 countries. Widening of the licensing deal comes just after the Indian patent office ruled that Sovaldi is not innovative enough to warrant patent protection. But Gilead tells C&EN that this rejection applies only to the metabolites of Sovaldi, not the main patent for the drug, which is still pending.