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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Legal Proceedings
We are a party to various legal actions. Certain significant matters are described below. We recognize accruals for such actions to the extent that we conclude that a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable. We accrue for the best estimate of a loss within a range; however, if no estimate in the range is better than any other, then we accrue the minimum amount in the range. If we determine that a material loss is reasonably possible and the loss or range of loss can be estimated, we disclose the possible loss. Unless otherwise noted, the outcome of these matters either is not expected to be material or is not possible to determine such that we cannot reasonably estimate the maximum potential exposure or the range of possible loss. We did not have any material accruals for the matters described below on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.
Litigation Related to Sofosbuvir
In 2012, we acquired Pharmasset, Inc. Through the acquisition, we acquired sofosbuvir, a nucleotide analog that acts to inhibit the replication of HCV. In 2013, we received approval from FDA for sofosbuvir, sold under the brand name Sovaldi. Sofosbuvir is also included in all of our marketed HCV products. We have received a number of litigation claims regarding sofosbuvir. While we have carefully considered these claims both prior to and following the acquisition and believe they are without merit, we cannot predict the ultimate outcome of such claims or range of loss.
We are aware of patents and patent applications owned by third parties that have been or may in the future be alleged by such parties to cover the use of our HCV products. If third parties obtain valid and enforceable patents, and successfully prove infringement of those patents by our HCV products, we could be required to pay significant monetary damages. We cannot predict the ultimate outcome of intellectual property claims related to our HCV products. We have spent, and will continue to spend, significant resources defending against these claims.
Litigation with the University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota (the “University”) has obtained U.S. Patent No. 8,815,830 (the “’830 patent”), which purports to broadly cover nucleosides with antiviral and anticancer activity. In 2016, the University filed a lawsuit against us in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, alleging that the commercialization of sofosbuvir-containing products infringes the ’830 patent. We believe the ’830 patent is invalid and will not be infringed by the continued commercialization of sofosbuvir. In 2017, the court granted our motion to transfer the case to California. We have also filed petitions for inter partes review with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) alleging that all asserted claims are invalid for anticipation and obviousness. The PTAB instituted one of these petitions and a merits hearing was held in February 2021. In 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California stayed the litigation until after the PTAB concluded the inter partes review that it had initiated. In May 2021, the PTAB issued a written decision finding the asserted claims of the University’s patent invalid. In July 2021, the University appealed this decision, and in March 2023, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s decision. The litigation in the U.S. District Court was dismissed in April 2023 after the University represented to the Court that it did not intend to pursue further appeals.
Litigation with NuCana plc. (“NuCana”)
NuCana has obtained European Patent No. 2,955,190 (the “EP ’190 patent”) that allegedly covers sofosbuvir. In opposition proceedings before the European Patent Office (“EPO”) held in February 2021, the EPO Opposition Division upheld the validity of the EP ’190 patent in amended form. The EPO subsequently held an appeal hearing in March 2023 and revoked the EP ’190 patent, including the amended patent. We had also initiated proceedings to invalidate the U.K. counterparts of the EP ’190 patent and a related patent, European Patent No. 3,904,365 (the EP ‘365 patent) in the High Court of England & Wales. NuCana had filed counterclaims against us in the High Court of England & Wales alleging patent infringement of the U.K. counterparts and seeking damages and other relief. The U.K. case was heard in early 2023, and the judge issued a judgment in March 2023 invalidating both patents.
In April 2021, NuCana also filed a lawsuit against us in Germany at the Landgericht Düsseldorf alleging patent infringement of the German counterpart of the EP ’190 patent and seeking damages and injunctive relief. In April 2022, we filed an action for grant of a compulsory license before the Federal Patent Court in Germany. In July 2022, the Düsseldorf court determined that NuCana’s German counterpart of the EP ’190 patent is infringed and granted an injunction. In August 2022, Gilead filed a notice of appeal regarding the Düsseldorf court’s decision, and a hearing is scheduled for August 2023. Following the revocation of the EP ’190 patent by the EPO, we expect the injunction in Germany to be lifted.
Litigation Relating to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
In August 2019, we filed petitions requesting inter partes review of U.S. Patent Nos. 9,044,509, 9,579,333, 9,937,191 and 10,335,423 (collectively, “HHS Patents”) by PTAB. The HHS Patents are assigned to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and purport to claim a process of protecting a primate host from infection by an immunodeficiency retrovirus by administering a combination of FTC and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (“TDF”) or TAF prior to exposure of the host to the immunodeficiency retrovirus, a process commonly known as pre-exposure prophylaxis (“PrEP”). In November 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against us in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, alleging that the sale of Truvada and Descovy for use as PrEP infringes the HHS Patents. In February 2020, PTAB declined to institute our petitions for inter partes review of the HHS Patents. In April 2020, we filed a breach of contract lawsuit against the U.S. federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleging violations of three material transfer agreements (“MTAs”) related to the research underlying the HHS Patents and two clinical trial agreements (“CTAs”) by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention related to PrEP research. A trial for the bifurcated portion of the lawsuit in the Court of Federal Claims was held in June 2022, and in November 2022, the Court determined that the government breached the three MTAs. The Court also made findings of fact relating to the CTAs but declined to issue a decision on breach of the CTAs until after trial in the Delaware District Court. Although we cannot predict with certainty the ultimate outcome of each of these litigation matters, we believe that the U.S. federal government breached the MTAs and CTA, that Truvada and Descovy do not infringe the HHS Patents and that the HHS Patents are invalid over prior art descriptions of Truvada’s use for PrEP and post-exposure prophylaxis as well because physicians and patients were using the claimed methods years before HHS filed the applications for the patents. A trial date for the lawsuit in the Delaware District Court has been set for May 2023. A separate trial at the Court of Federal Claims to determine the damages Gilead is owed based on the government’s breach has yet to be set.
Litigation with Generic Manufacturers
As part of the approval process for some of our products, FDA granted us a New Chemical Entity (“NCE”) exclusivity period during which other manufacturers’ applications for approval of generic versions of our products will not be approved. Generic manufacturers may challenge the patents protecting products that have been granted NCE exclusivity one year prior to the end of the NCE exclusivity period. Generic manufacturers have sought and may continue to seek FDA approval for a similar or identical drug through an abbreviated new drug application (“ANDA”), the application form typically used by manufacturers seeking approval of a generic drug. The sale of generic versions of our products prior to their patent expiration would have a significant negative effect on our revenues and results of operations. To seek approval for a generic version of a product having NCE status, a generic company may submit its ANDA to FDA four years after the branded product’s approval.
In October 2021, we received a letter from Lupin Ltd. (“Lupin”) indicating that it has submitted an ANDA to FDA requesting permission to market and manufacture a generic version of Symtuza, a product commercialized by Janssen and for which Gilead shares in revenues. In November 2021, we, along with Janssen Products, L.P. and Janssen (“Janssen”), filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Lupin as co-plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court of Delaware. Trial has been scheduled for October 2023. In September 2022, we received a letter from Apotex Inc. and Apotex Corp. (“Apotex”) stating that they have submitted an ANDA for a generic version of Symtuza. In October 2022, we, along with Janssen, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apotex as co-plaintiffs in the U.S. District Court of Delaware. We separately filed an additional lawsuit against Apotex asserting infringement of two additional patents in the same court. Trial has not yet been scheduled in the lawsuits against Apotex.
Starting in March 2022, we received letters from Lupin, Laurus Labs (“Laurus”) and Cipla Ltd. (“Cipla”), indicating that they have submitted ANDAs to FDA requesting permission to market and manufacture generic versions of Biktarvy. Lupin, Laurus, and Cipla have challenged the validity of three of the five patents listed in the Orange Book as associated with Biktarvy. We filed a lawsuit against Lupin, Laurus and Cipla in May 2022 in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, and intend to enforce and defend our intellectual property. Trial has been scheduled for December 2024.
European Patent Claims
In 2015, several parties filed oppositions in the EPO requesting revocation of one of our granted European patents covering sofosbuvir that expires in 2028. In 2016, the EPO upheld the validity of certain claims of our sofosbuvir patent. We have appealed this decision, seeking to restore all of the original claims, and several of the original opposing parties have also appealed, requesting full revocation. The appeal hearing was held in November 2022, but a final decision regarding the validity of the claims has not yet been announced.
In 2017, several parties filed oppositions in the EPO requesting revocation of our granted European patent relating to sofosbuvir that expires in 2024. The EPO conducted an oral hearing for this opposition in 2018 and upheld the claims. The original opposing parties have appealed, requesting full revocation. The hearing for the appeal has been scheduled for September 2023.
In 2017, several parties filed oppositions in the EPO requesting revocation of our granted European patent relating to TAF hemifumarate that expires in 2032. In 2019, the EPO upheld the validity of the claims of our TAF hemifumarate patent. Three parties have appealed this decision. The appeal hearing was held in March 2023 and the EPO affirmed the validity of the TAF hemifumarate patent.
The appeal process for sofosbuvir opposition proceedings may take several years . While we are confident in the strength of our patents, we cannot predict the ultimate outcome of these oppositions. If we are unsuccessful in defending these oppositions, some or all of our patent claims may be narrowed or revoked and the patent protection for sofosbuvir in the EU could be substantially shortened or eliminated entirely. If our patents are revoked, and no other European patents are granted covering these compounds, our exclusivity may be based entirely on regulatory exclusivity granted by EMA. If we lose patent protection for sofosbuvir, our revenues and results of operations could be negatively impacted for the years including and succeeding the year in which such exclusivity is lost.
Antitrust and Consumer Protection
We, along with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (“BMS”) and Johnson & Johnson, Inc., have been named as defendants in class action lawsuits filed in 2019 and 2020 related to various drugs used to treat HIV, including drugs used in combination antiretroviral therapy. Plaintiffs allege that we (and the other defendants) engaged in various conduct to restrain competition in violation of federal and state antitrust laws and state consumer protection laws. The lawsuits, which have been consolidated, are pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The lawsuits seek to bring claims on behalf of direct purchasers consisting largely of wholesalers and indirect or end-payor purchasers, including health insurers and individual patients. Plaintiffs seek damages, permanent injunctive relief and other relief. In the second half of 2021 and first half of 2022, several plaintiffs filed separate lawsuits effectively opting out of the class action cases, asserting claims that are substantively the same as the putative classes. These cases have been coordinated with the class actions. Trial has been set for May 2023.
In January 2022, we, along with BMS and Janssen Products, L.P., were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Mateo, by Aetna, Inc. on behalf of itself and its affiliates and subsidiaries that effectively opts the Aetna plaintiffs out of the above class actions. The allegations are substantively the same as those in the class actions. The Aetna plaintiffs seek damages, permanent injunctive relief and other relief.
In September 2020, we, along with generic manufacturers Cipla and Cipla USA Inc. (together, “Cipla Defendants”), were named as defendants in a class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by Jacksonville Police Officers and Fire Fighters Health Insurance Trust (“Jacksonville Trust”) on behalf of end-payor purchasers. Jacksonville Trust claims that the 2014 settlement agreement between us and the Cipla Defendants, which settled a patent dispute relating to patents covering our Emtriva, Truvada and Atripla products and permitted generic entry prior to patent expiry, violates certain federal and state antitrust and consumer protection laws. The Plaintiff seeks damages, permanent injunctive relief and other relief.
In February 2021, we, along with BMS and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed in the First Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico, County of Santa Fe by the New Mexico Attorney General. The New Mexico Attorney General alleges that we (and the other defendants) restrained competition in violation of New Mexico antitrust and consumer protection laws. The New Mexico Attorney General seeks damages, permanent injunctive relief and other relief.
While we believe these cases are without merit, we cannot predict the ultimate outcome. If plaintiffs are successful in their claims, we could be required to pay significant monetary damages or could be subject to permanent injunctive relief awarded in favor of plaintiffs.
Product Liability
We have been named as a defendant in one class action lawsuit and various product liability lawsuits related to Viread, Truvada, Atripla, Complera and Stribild. Plaintiffs allege that Viread, Truvada, Atripla, Complera and/or Stribild caused them to experience kidney, bone and/or tooth injuries. The lawsuits, which are pending in state or federal court in California, Delaware, and Missouri, involve more than 25,000 active plaintiffs. Plaintiffs in these cases seek damages and other relief on various grounds for alleged personal injury and economic loss. The first bellwether trial in California state court was scheduled to begin in October 2022, but is currently stayed while the California First District Court of Appeal considers the merits of plaintiffs’ theories of liability. The first bellwether trial in California federal court is scheduled to begin in January 2024. We intend to vigorously defend ourselves in these actions. While we believe these cases are without merit, we cannot predict the ultimate outcome. If plaintiffs are successful in their claims, we could be required to pay significant monetary damages.
Government Investigation
In 2017, we received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York requesting documents related to our promotional speaker programs for HIV. We are cooperating with this inquiry.
Qui Tam Litigation
A former sales employee filed a qui tam lawsuit against Gilead in March 2017 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Following the government’s decision not to intervene in the suit, the case was unsealed in December 2020. The lawsuit alleges that certain of Gilead’s HCV sales and marketing activities violated the federal False Claims Act and various state false claims acts. The lawsuit seeks all available relief under these statutes.
Health Choice Advocates, LLC (“Health Choice”) filed a qui tam lawsuit against Gilead in April 2020 in New Jersey state court. Following the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office’s decision not to intervene in the suit, Health Choice served us with their original complaint in August 2020. The lawsuit alleges that Gilead violated the New Jersey False Claims Act through our clinical educator programs for Sovaldi and Harvoni and our HCV and HIV patient access programs. The lawsuit seeks all available relief under the New Jersey False Claims Act. In April 2021, the trial court granted our motion to dismiss with prejudice. Health Choice has appealed the trial court’s dismissal.
Health Choice filed another qui tam lawsuit against Gilead in May 2020 making similar allegations in Texas state court. Following the Texas Attorney General’s Office’s decision not to intervene in the suit, Health Choice served us with their original complaint in October 2020. The lawsuit alleges that Gilead violated the Texas Medicare Fraud Prevention Act (“TMFPA”) through our clinical educator programs for Sovaldi and Harvoni and our HCV and HIV patient access programs. The lawsuit seeks all available relief under the TMFPA. This case was stayed in September 2021 pending final judgment in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania lawsuit filed in March 2017, as discussed above. Health Choice filed a motion to lift the stay, and in April 2023, the trial court granted Health Choice’s motion to lift the stay. Gilead has filed a motion to the Texas Court of Appeals requesting reinstatement of the stay until final judgment in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania lawsuit.
We intend to vigorously defend ourselves in these actions. While we believe these cases are without merit, we cannot predict the ultimate outcomes. If any of these plaintiffs are successful in their claims, we could be required to pay significant monetary damages.
Securities Litigation
Immunomedics and several of its former officers and directors have been named as defendants in putative class actions filed in 2018 and 2019, which were consolidated in September 2019. Plaintiffs filed a consolidated complaint in November 2019 and an amended complaint in July 2021. Plaintiffs allege that Immunomedics and the individual defendants violated the federal securities laws in connection with Immunomedics’ Biologics License Application for Trodelvy, and seek certification of a class of shareholders, damages and other relief. The consolidated lawsuit is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. In June 2022, plaintiffs filed their Motion for Class Certification, and Immunomedics submitted its Opposition in July 2022. The parties have agreed to settle this litigation. A motion seeking preliminary approval of the settlement was granted in February 2023. The court has not yet entered a final order approving the settlement.
Other Matters
We are a party to various legal actions that arose in the ordinary course of our business. We do not believe that these other legal actions will have a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.