Truvada Paces Gilead

Gilead's(GILD Quote) second-quarter earnings rose 35% from a year ago, paced by sharply higher sales of its HIV treatment Truvada.

Gilead earned $265.2 million, or 56 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $196 million, or 41 cents a share, a year ago. Analysts were forecasting 54 cents a share in the latest period. Gilead said options expenses reduced latest-quarter earnings by 5 cents a share.

Second-quarter sales rose 38% from a year ago to $685.3 million, beating the Thomson First Call consensus estimate by about $20 million. Truvada sales rose 143% from a year ago to $299.3 million, while sales of AIDS drug Viread fell 20% to $167.4 million. The company said the decline represented a switch to Truvada among patients. ...