Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Gilead Sciences first quarter 2019 earnings conference call. My name is Jonathan, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode, and as a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Sung Lee, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Jonathan, and good afternoon, everyone. Just after market closed today, We issued a press release with earnings results for the first quarter of 2019. The press release and detailed slides are available on the Investor Relations section of the Gilead website. The speakers on today's call will be Daniel O'Day, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Robin Washington, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Laura Hamel, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Commercial Operations, and John McCutcheson, Chief Scientific Officer, and Head of Research and Development. Before we begin with our prepared comments, let me remind you that we will be making forward-looking statements, including plans and expectations with respect to products, product candidates, financial projections, and the use of capital, all of which involve certain assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are beyond our control and could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. A description of these risks can be found in our latest SEC disclosure documents and recent press releases. In addition, Gilead does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during this call. Non-GAAP financial measures will be used to help you understand the company's underlying business performance. The GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations are provided in the earnings press release as well as on the Gilead website. I will now turn the call over to Dan.

Thank you, Sung, and good afternoon, everyone. I'm really pleased to join all of you today for my first earnings call at Gilead. Rob and Laura and John will take you through the key highlights of the quarter, but I'd like to share and start by sharing some of the perspectives that I've gained since arriving here in March. As many of you know, when I made the decision to join Gilead, I was drawn to the potential that I saw to build on the legacy of transforming care for people with serious illnesses. in a company that has a deep commitment to patients and science. I've now had a chance to see the extent of that potential up close. Let me share some of what I've observed, the areas that I've focused on up until now, and a few thoughts on what you can expect next. The first thing I'll say is that it's been really exciting to see the scientific strength from the perspective of being inside the company. I've taken part in a series of deep dives into the R&D programs in each of our therapeutic areas. This includes spending time at Kite to dig into our work in cell therapy. I'm excited about the progress that we're making in inflammation, and with the results of Finch 1 and Finch 3, the studies that were announced at the end of March. John will walk you through the detailed study results later in this call, but I just want to express my enthusiasm for this work. as we mobilize the organization for the launch of filgotinib, a medicine that will be a significant step forward for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Inflammation is one of the three emerging areas for us, and we anticipate that filgotinib will be an important future growth driver. As I deepen my understanding of Gilead's therapeutic areas, I've had the pleasure of participating in two scientific congresses, beginning with CROI, or the Conference on Retrovirus and Opportunistic Infections, and here I had the opportunity to watch as we shared the promising results from the DISCOVER study of Viscovi for PrEP. More recently, I attended the International Liver Congress in Vienna where we presented data from across our liver disease programs and had the chance at both of these conferences to meet with key thought leaders and get their perspectives on our R&D programs. During my first two months, I've also began to get to know our shareholders and to understand their perspectives. These conversations have helped me understand the external view of Gilead, and this feedback will help inform the decisions that I make to shape the organization and position Gilead for the future. As I've settled into my new role, I've been greatly impressed with the people at Gilead and the extent of talent across the organizations. I spent a lot of time talking to groups and individuals, and it's great to meet so many really smart, passionate, and thoughtful people. I want to close my portion of the call by sharing with you a little bit about what you can expect from me and when. In terms of immediate priorities, broadly speaking, I'm looking first at three key areas. Number one, strengthening the pipeline, both internal programs and corporate development opportunities. Number two is ensuring optimal commercial delivery, both on our current medicines and those that we're getting ready to launch. And number three, the organizational piece, ensuring that we have the right people and the right roles and that they are well-equipped for success. I want to make sure we tap into the talent at all levels of the company. In my early days, one area of pressing need has been working to better understand the work we are doing at KITE. identifying what it needs for short and long-term success in cell therapy. I wanted to take some swift decisions here, and at the end of March, we announced internally that KITE would become a separate business unit. We've initiated a search for a CEO of KITE, and once appointed, that individual will report to me and will have full accountability for all aspects of cell therapy. I believe that providing KITE with this degree of autonomy will foster agility, Innovation, and Entrepreneurialism. Cell therapy is a critical piece of the puzzle with regards to the long-term future of oncology and a critical element of Gilead's long-term strategy, helping us to build on a legacy of transformational medicines. Between now and the end of the year, I will also have a series of meetings with the leadership team and the board to shape our long-term strategy and vision for the future of Gilead. I anticipate that later this year I'll be in a position to begin sharing more with all of you. Finally, I'd like to thank all the people who have contributed to the excellent progress my colleagues will outline today. Gilead's 11,000 employees, our partners, the scientific community, and the patients who take part in our clinical trials. I'm excited to see what we can achieve together in the months and years ahead. Before I turn the call over to Robin, I would like to acknowledge the news we shared earlier this week regarding her retirement from her role as CFO. Over the past two months, I've come to know Robin as an exceptional and talented leader. This is a transition that I know she has contemplated for some time, and while I had hoped to have the opportunity to work with her for longer, she has my full support. I'm grateful to Robin for agreeing to stay at Gilead through March 1, 2020 to see us through the completion of the reporting of the company's 2019 financial results. Thank you, Robin, for your leadership through this period and over the past 11 years. I'll now turn the call over to you.