Pharmasset Inc. was a pharmaceutical company based in Princeton, New Jersey in the United States. The company develops

antiviral drug Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do n ...

s for HIV (including

racivir Racivir is an experimental nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI), developed by Pharmasset for the treatment of HIV. It is the enantiomer of emtricitabine, a widely used NRTI, meaning that the two compounds are mirror image A mirr ...

), hepatitis B (including

clevudine Clevudine (INN) is an antiviral drug for the treatment of hepatitis B (HBV). It is already approved for HBV in South Korea and the Philippines. It is marketed by Bukwang Pharmaceuticals in South Korea under the tradenames Levovir and Revovir. Re ...

, marketed as

Levovir Clevudine ( INN) is an antiviral drug for the treatment of hepatitis B (HBV). It is already approved for HBV in South Korea and the Philippines. It is marketed by Bukwang Pharmaceuticals in South Korea under the tradenames Levovir and Revovir. ...

), and

hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...

. In November 2011, Pharmasset was acquired by Gilead for $11.2 billion.

History

Pharmasset was founded in 1998 by

Raymond Schinazi Raymond F. Schinazi is an American organic medicinal chemist with expertise in antiviral agents, pharmacology, and biotechnology. His research focuses on developing treatments for infections caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis ...

and

Dennis Liotta Dennis Liotta is a chemistry professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. He is noted for his work on the development of antiviral drugs. Career Liotta's fields of research are organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry ...

, scientists at Emory University. The company was initially incorporated in Barbados (as Pharmasset, Ltd.) and separately in Georgia. However, the company was redomiciled as a Delaware corporation on June 8, 2004. Pharmasset's initial public offering took place on April 27, 2007, when it was first listed on

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

. The firm's

stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...

return Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document o ...

in the first three fiscal quarters (nine months) of 2011 was 278 percent. Among analysts, 17 rated the company's stock as "strong buy" or "buy," while two rated it a "hold." Pharmasset was the best performer in this period among all major U.S. exchanges among stocks trading for at least $1.50 on January 1, 2011.

Market

The company described itself as being a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company and stated that its primary focus is "the development of oral therapeutics for the treatment of hepatitis C virus." The company's secondary focus was the development of

Racivir Racivir is an experimental nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI), developed by Pharmasset for the treatment of HIV. It is the enantiomer of emtricitabine, a widely used NRTI, meaning that the two compounds are mirror image A mirr ...

, an investigational antiretroviral drug for the treatment of HIV. The company's

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

concentrated on nucleoside analogs. Pharmasset's PSI-7977 medication was further developed by Gilead and approved in December 2013 by the FDA as

sofosbuvir Sofosbuvir, sold under the brand name Sovaldi among others, is a medication used to treat hepatitis C. It is taken Oral administration, by mouth. Common side effects include fatigue, headache, nausea, and trouble sleeping. Side effects are gen ...

(Sovaldi) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Among Pharmasset's competitors were

Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories is an American multinational medical devices and health care company with headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois, United States. The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known dr ...

, Merck & Co., and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Sovaldi

Pharmasset originally developed

Sofosbuvir Sofosbuvir, sold under the brand name Sovaldi among others, is a medication used to treat hepatitis C. It is taken Oral administration, by mouth. Common side effects include fatigue, headache, nausea, and trouble sleeping. Side effects are gen ...

(brand name Sovaldi). When Gilead Sciences acquired Pharmasset for $11.2 billion in 2012, the "smaller company had forecast a $36,000 price per treatment course of Sovaldi. Gilead's investment bankers,

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

and

Bank of America Merrill Lynch BofA Securities, Inc., previously Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), is an American multinational investment banking division under the auspices of Bank of America. It is not to be confused with Merrill, the stock brokerage and trading plat ...

did the "valuation of Pharmasset during merger talks and the related pricing assumptions for Sovaldi." According to The Wall Street Journal in response to the price of Solvadi at $84,000 per treatment course, the United States Senate Finance Committee wrote a letter to CEO John C. Martin questioning how much Pharmasset had spent on research and development on Sovaldi and how much Gilead spent on its "Sovaldi-related research costs since the 2012 buyout.

References

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External links

Official website
Pharmaceutical companies disestablished in 2012 Companies based in Princeton, New Jersey Pharmaceutical companies established in 1998 Pharmaceutical companies based in New Jersey Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq 2012 mergers and acquisitions Gilead Sciences