By Mackenzie Tatananni

Gilead Sciences stock declined in premarket trading Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal reported the Department of Health and Human Services was considering federal funding cuts to domestic HIV prevention.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an arm of the HHS, has a Division of HIV Prevention dating back to the 1980s. In addition to tracking HIV infections across the country, it focuses on community outreach, working with state and local leaders to promote testing and prevention.

Congress enacted a spending bill in 2023 that appropriated nearly $1.4 billion to the CDC for HIV prevention and that of other infectious diseases. The Journal report comes amid a broader push by the Trump administration to slash federal spending.

Gilead stock fell 2.4% to $107.60 on Wednesday. The biotech focuses on virology, oncology, and inflammation, and brands itself the "long-standing leader" in HIV treatment. Gilead is the maker of Biktarvy and Descovy, two antiretroviral drugs used to prevent and treat the virus.

In January, the company settled a lawsuit with the CDC claiming Gilead refused to license the agency's patents and ignored its contributions to the development of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a medication regimen that can help prevent HIV.

ViiV Healthcare, a multinational company specializing in the research and development of HIV treatments, also could be affected by funding cuts. ViiV is a joint venture of GSK, Pfizer, and Japanese pharma company Shionogi.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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March 19, 2025 09:22 ET (13:22 GMT)

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