Benzinga | Jul 26, 2021 02:24PM EDT

Gilead Ordered To Pay Attorney Fees In Shareholder Lawsuit

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NYSE:GILD) was ordered to pay about $1.8 million late last week in attorney's fees and legal expenses to shareholders who sued the company after they were blocked from reviewing notable company records, according to Courthouse News Service.

Why It Matters The information requests initially stemmed from the company using licensing agreements with rivals to slow generic competition to its HIV prevention drug. Shareholders wanted to investigate antitrust, patent and fraud allegations with regards to the company's HIV prevention drugs, including Truvada, which has earned the company billions of dollars each year, the report said.

What Else Despite the lawsuit -- as well as others that have recently hit leaders industry leaders, including Purdue Pharma -- health care biopharmaceuticals are still receiving tremendous investment, particularly from the U.S. government.

Several pharmaceutical companies have received hundreds of millions of dollars in American investment just within the last year.

GILD Price Action: Gilead shares were down 0.55% at $68.64 at last check.

Photo: Unsplash photo by Anshu A.