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⚠ ViiV Is Winning the Long-Acting RaceModerate threat

Gilead Sciences (GILD) — threat to the moat

ViiV's long-acting injectables are 35% of its US HIV sales and growing fast, a format Gilead does not yet lead.

Gilead dominates daily pills; its main rival is growing in the format beyond pills. GSK's ViiV Healthcare reported HIV sales of £2,078 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 11%1. Its long-acting injectable for treatment, Cabenuva, sold £453 million, up 33%2, and GSK says long-acting injectables represented "35% of US HIV turnover"3.

ViiV Healthcare sales, Q2 2026 (GBP M)749Dovato453Cabenuva140ApretudeGSK Q2 2026 results announcement
ViiV's injectables are its growth engine.

That is a direct challenge to the daily-pill switching cost. A patient choosing an injection every month or two is choosing not to take any daily tablet, Biktarvy included. Gilead reports no separate long-acting treatment line; Sunlenca, its lenacapavir treatment, sits inside the "Other HIV" figures4.

Gilead's answer is lenacapavir, whose patents run to 20375, and the once-weekly oral regimen with Merck6. Neither is an injection for treatment at scale today.

ViiV's daily tablet competes too. Dovato, its daily tablet, sold £749 million in the second quarter, up 14%7, faster than Biktarvy's 7%8. ViiV attacks Gilead's daily-tablet franchise from two sides: with injections for patients who want no daily pill, and with a tablet of its own that is growing faster than Biktarvy.

The ViiV page under Competitors covers the rivalry in full. The test is whether Biktarvy keeps growing while long-acting injectables gain share: if Biktarvy sales fall in a year in which ViiV's long-acting sales grow more than 25%, the format will have started to move patients.

References
  1. ReportedGSK's ViiV Healthcare reported HIV sales of £2,078 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 11%.
    GSK second-quarter 2026 results announcement - ViiV Healthcare HIV sales of GBP 2,078 million (+11%), Dovato GBP 749 million, Cabenuva GBP 453 million (+33%), Apretude GBP 140 million (+39%); long-acting injectables 35% of US HIV turnover. — Q2 2026 · publ. July 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedIts long-acting injectable for treatment, Cabenuva, sold £453 million, up 33%, and GSK says long-acting injectables represented "35% of US HIV turnover".
    GSK second-quarter 2026 results announcement - ViiV Healthcare HIV sales of GBP 2,078 million (+11%), Dovato GBP 749 million, Cabenuva GBP 453 million (+33%), Apretude GBP 140 million (+39%); long-acting injectables 35% of US HIV turnover. — Q2 2026 · publ. July 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedIts long-acting injectable for treatment, Cabenuva, sold £453 million, up 33%, and GSK says long-acting injectables represented "35% of US HIV turnover".
    GSK second-quarter 2026 results announcement - ViiV Healthcare HIV sales of GBP 2,078 million (+11%), Dovato GBP 749 million, Cabenuva GBP 453 million (+33%), Apretude GBP 140 million (+39%); long-acting injectables 35% of US HIV turnover. — Q2 2026 · publ. July 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedGilead reports no separate long-acting treatment line; Sunlenca, its lenacapavir treatment, sits inside the "Other HIV" figures.
    Gilead Sciences Form 10-K for 2025 - Item 1A risk factors and pricing regulation: the IRA, Medicare negotiation, Medicaid, the ACA and tariffs. — FY2025 · publ. 24 February 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedGilead's answer is lenacapavir, whose patents run to 2037, and the once-weekly oral regimen with Merck.
    Gilead Sciences Form 10-K for 2025 - Item 1A risk factors and pricing regulation: the IRA, Medicare negotiation, Medicaid, the ACA and tariffs. — FY2025 · publ. 24 February 2026 · source ↗
  6. ReportedGilead's answer is lenacapavir, whose patents run to 2037, and the once-weekly oral regimen with Merck.
    Gilead Sciences second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - revenue by product, income statement, cash flow, balance sheet, pipeline updates and 2026 guidance - pipeline, regulatory and business development updates. — Q2 2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
  7. ReportedDovato, its daily tablet, sold £749 million in the second quarter, up 14%, faster than Biktarvy's 7%.
    GSK second-quarter 2026 results announcement - ViiV Healthcare HIV sales of GBP 2,078 million (+11%), Dovato GBP 749 million, Cabenuva GBP 453 million (+33%), Apretude GBP 140 million (+39%); long-acting injectables 35% of US HIV turnover. — Q2 2026 · publ. July 2026 · source ↗
  8. ReportedDovato, its daily tablet, sold £749 million in the second quarter, up 14%, faster than Biktarvy's 7%.
    Gilead Sciences second-quarter 2026 results release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - revenue by product, income statement, cash flow, balance sheet, pipeline updates and 2026 guidance - revenue by product and product group and the drivers of each. — Q2 2026 · publ. 4 August 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated October 4, 2026