These
risks and uncertainties include: Gilead's ability to achieve its anticipated full year 2018 financial results; Gilead's ability to sustain growth in revenues for its antiviral and other programs; the
risk that private and public payers may be reluctant to provide, or continue to provide, coverage or reimbursement for new products, including Vosevi, Yescarta, Epclusa, Harvoni, Genvoya, Odefsey, Descovy, Biktarvy and Vemlidy ®; austerity measures in European countries that may increase the amount of discount required on Gilead's products; an increase in discounts, chargebacks and rebates due to ongoing contracts and future negotiations with commercial and government payers; a larger than anticipated shift in payer mix to more highly discounted payer segments and geographic regions and decreases in treatment duration; availability of funding for state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs); continued fluctuations in ADAP purchases driven by federal and state grant
cycles which may not mirror patient demand and may cause fluctuations in Gilead's earnings;
market share and price erosion caused by the introduction of generic versions of Viread and Truvada, an uncertain global macroeconomic environment; and potential amendments to the Affordable Care Act or other government action that could have the effect of lowering prices or reducing the number of insured patients; the possibility of unfavorable results from clinical trials involving investigational compounds; Gilead's ability to initiate clinical trials in its currently anticipated timeframes; the levels of inventory held by wholesalers and retailers which may cause fluctuations in Gilead's earnings; Kite's ability to develop and commercialize cell therapies utilizing the zinc finger nuclease technology platform and realize the benefits of the Sangamo partnership; Gilead's ability to submit new drug applications for new product candidates in the timelines currently anticipated; Gilead's ability to receive regulatory approvals in a timely manner or at all, for new and current products, including Biktarvy; Gilead's ability to successfully commercialize its products, including Biktarvy; the
risk that physicians and patients may not see advantages of these products
over other therapies and may therefore be reluctant to prescribe the products; Gilead's ability to successfully develop its hematology / oncology and inflammation / respiratory programs; safety and efficacy data from clinical studies may not warrant further development of Gilead's product candidates, including GS - 9620 and Yescarta in combination with Pfizer's utomilumab; Gilead's ability to pay dividends or
complete its share repurchase program due to changes in its stock price, corporate or other
market conditions; fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate of the U.S. dollar that may cause an unfavorable foreign currency exchange impact on Gilead's future revenues and pre-tax earnings; and other
risks identified from time to time in Gilead's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC).
Accordingly, if we accept a greater amount of
risk during favorable conditions, and less during unfavorable conditions, we expect to perform strongly - at controlled
risk -
over the
complete market cycle.
Since the inception of the Fund (as well, of course, in long - term historical tests), our present approach to
risk management has both added to returns and reduced volatility - not necessarily in any short period, but
over the
complete market cycle.
Since my impression is that the Fund continues to nicely achieve its objectives, it's important that shareholders remember that those objectives focus on achieving strong absolute and
risk - adjusted returns
over the
complete market cycle (i.e. peak - to - peak, bull
markets and bear
markets combined).