Gilead CEO John Milligan to step down

Victor J. Blue/ | Bloomberg | Getty Images

John Milligan, CEO of Gilead

Gilead Sciences announced Wednesday that John Milligan will step down as president and chief executive officer after 28 years with the company.

Milligan will remain in his current position through the end of the year while the company’s board conducts a search for his successor.

“It has been an honor to work at Gilead for my entire professional career and, now that the company is on solid footing for the future, the Board and I have agreed it is a good time to turn the reins over to a new leader,” Milligan said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to a well-deserved break and will then move on to new and different opportunities.”

Milligan will also step down from the company’s board at the end of the year. Additionally, John Martin, chairman of the board, said he would depart once a new CEO was named.

Also on Wednesday, Gilead reported a lower quarterly profit, as sales of its hepatitis C drugs continued to slide due to price competition and a drop in the number of patients in need of a cure for the liver disease.

Net income fell to $1.82 billion, or $1.39 per share, from $3.07 billion, or $2.33 per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, Gilead earned $1.91 per share, better than the $1.56 per share analysts had expected, according to Thomson Reuters.

Revenue fell 21 percent to $5.65 billion, beating Wall Streets forecast of $5.21 billion.

Shares of the company were down nearly 2 percent after the bell Wednesday.