Aug. 2 Quick Takes: Yescarta label expansion buoys Gilead’s 2Q22 sales

A label expansion that pushed Yescarta axicabtagene ciloleucel into second-line relapsed or refractory large B cell lymphoma drove a 66% year-on-year increase in sales of the therapy to $295 million in 2Q22. Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) also reported a 79% increase in sales of Trodelvy sacituzumab govitecan-hziy to $159 million and a 46% increase for Veklury remdesivir to $445 million. Total 2Q22 sales were $6.1 billion, roughly unchanged compared with 2Q21, due to an 18% fall in HCV sales. Still, 2Q revenues topped the Street consensus of $5.9 billion. Non-GAAP, diluted EPS also beat consensus — $1.58 vs. $1.52. The company bumped up its 2022 guidance, from $23.8-$24.3 billion in sales to $24.5-$25 billion, and from $6.20-$6.70 in non-GAAP EPS to $6.35-$6.75. 

Sironax Ltd.’s $200 million series B round led by Gaorong Capital and Yunfeng Capital attracted a broad syndicate of investors to support CEO Aaron Ren’s pipeline of treatments for age-related degenerative diseases. New investors MSA Capital, CBC Group, Long River Investments, LSV Capital, Superstring Capital, Future Innovation Fund and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority joined existing investors including Temasek, Invus, F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads, Arch Venture Partners, K2 Venture Partners and lead investors from previous financings. Sironax, which has now raised over $300 million, has a pipeline that includes multiple programs targeting key mechanisms underlying age-related degenerative diseases including regulated cell death, neuroprotective pathways and neuroinflammation. ...