[Bloomberg] Gilead Close to Sending $84,000 Drug to Poor Countries

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) is close to a pact with generic drugmakers to bring low-cost versions of its $84,000 hepatitis C drug Sovaldi to about 80 developing countries including India,Indonesia, and Pakistan.

The broad licensing deal could be completed as soon as mid-September and would allow the generic manufacturers to produce Sovaldi and an experimental pill that combines Sovaldi with another Gilead hepatitis drug, said Gregg Alton, an executive vice president for Gilead, in a telephone interview.