<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001214659-23-005029.txt : 20230406
<SEC-HEADER>0001214659-23-005029.hdr.sgml : 20230406
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20230406152938
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001214659-23-005029
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	PX14A6G
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20230406
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20230406
EFFECTIVENESS DATE:		20230406

SUBJECT COMPANY:	

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			GILEAD SCIENCES, INC.
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000882095
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTS (NO DIAGNOSTIC SUBSTANCES) [2836]
		IRS NUMBER:				943047598
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		PX14A6G
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	000-19731
		FILM NUMBER:		23805984

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		333 LAKESIDE DR
		CITY:			FOSTER CITY
		STATE:			CA
		ZIP:			94404
		BUSINESS PHONE:		6505743000

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		333 LAKESIDE DR
		CITY:			FOSTER CITY
		STATE:			CA
		ZIP:			94404

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	GILEAD SCIENCES INC
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19930328

FILED BY:		

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001749378
		IRS NUMBER:				943083964
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			WA
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0630

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		PX14A6G

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1216 NE 65TH ST
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98115
		BUSINESS PHONE:		2062231138

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		1216 NE 65TH ST
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98115
</SEC-HEADER>
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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>Notice of Exempt Solicitation</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>NAME OF REGISTRANT: </B>Gilead Sciences, Inc.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>NAME OF PERSON RELYING ON EXEMPTION: </B>Adrian
Dominican Sisters</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>ADDRESS OF PERSON RELYING ON EXEMPTION: </B>Judy
Byron</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">jbyron@ipjc.org</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>&nbsp;</B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>Written materials are submitted pursuant to Rule
14a-6(g)(1) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.&nbsp;Submission is not required of this filer under the terms of the
Rule, but is made voluntarily. </B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Dear Fellow Gilead Sciences Shareholder,</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in">The Adrian Dominican Sisters
and co-filers Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, Grand Rapids Dominicans, Mercy Investment Services, Missionary Oblates of
Mary Immaculate, PeaceHealth and Trinity Health (&ldquo;the Proponents&rdquo;) write to urge you to vote <B>FOR Proposal 8</B> &ldquo;Requesting
that the Board Establish and Report on a Process to Consider the Impact of Extended Patent Exclusivities on Product Access in Deciding
Whether to Apply for Secondary and Tertiary Patents&rdquo; (the &ldquo;Proposal&rdquo;), at Gilead Sciences, Inc. (&ldquo; Gilead Sciences&rdquo;
or &ldquo;the Company&rdquo;) annual general meeting on May 3, 2023. The Proposal asks the Company to adopt and report on a process (&ldquo;Process&rdquo;)
by which the impact on patient access to medicines is considered when deciding whether to apply for secondary or tertiary patents. <U>We
believe that a Process would be beneficial to Gilead Sciences because extended exclusivity periods gained from secondary patents, and
the resulting delay in generic entry, limit patient access, create regulatory and reputational risk, and saddle the health care system
with unsustainable costs</U>.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in">Prescription drugs have assumed
an increasingly important role in American health care, and that trend is likely to continue: One study estimates that &ldquo;[p]rescription
drug spending on retail and non-retail drugs is poised to grow 63% from 2020 to 2030, reaching $917 billion dollars.&rdquo;<SUP>1</SUP>
Prescription drugs&mdash;and branded specialty medicines in particular&mdash;are costly in the U.S. The rise in spending on prescription
drugs outpaces increases in health care spending more generally,<SUP>2</SUP> and three in 10 Americans on a prescription drug report not
taking their medicine as prescribed due to cost.<SUP>3</SUP> A poll asking respondents to identify their top priority issue appearing
in the Build Back Better bill found that allowing the federal gov<FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">ernment to negotiate drug prices topped
the list.<SUP>4</SUP></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>1</SUP> https://www.i-mak.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Overpatented-Overpriced-2022-FINAL.pdf,
at 2 (citing Charles Roehrig and Ani Turner, Projections of the Non-Retail Prescription Drug Share of National Health Expenditures Report,
Altarum, July 2022).</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>2</SUP> https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46221.pdf,
at 2.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>3</SUP> https://www.kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/public-opinion-on-prescription-drugs-and-their-prices/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>4</SUP> https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/01/drug-price-negotiation-poll-harvard-514831</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center">This communication is not a solicitation of proxy
authority and no proxy cards will be accepted. Vote your proxies in accordance with the Company&rsquo;s instructions.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0.25in 0pt 0; text-align: justify">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in">Federal law tries to strike
a balance between incentivizing innovation and promoting affordability. Obtaining a patent for a new drug gives the manufacturer a period
of exclusive marketing rights, generally for 20 years.<SUP>5</SUP> Once the patent expires, manufacturers are free to make generic versions
of the drug&mdash;or in the case of a biologic, a biosimilar version&mdash;which drives down prices.<SUP>6</SUP> An academic commentator
described the balance struck by this regulatory regime:</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0 0pt 0.5in; text-align: left; color: #1E1E1E">On the one hand, originators
play an important role in developing new and improved medicines for the benefit of society. On the other hand, generic companies benefit
society by supplying cheaper equivalents of the originators&rsquo; medicines, which leads to the reduction of drug prices and facilitates
access to affordable medicines. When the interests of these two players are kept in balance, benefits are maximized for society, which
receives innovative and improved medicines, as well as timely access to generic drugs.<SUP>7</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in">We believe that balance is now
out of whack. Given the high prices their drugs command absent competition, branded drug makers have strong incentives to delay generic
competition as long as possible. One strategy they use is creating so-called &ldquo;patent thickets,&rdquo; numerous overlapping patents
on a drug filed after the primary patent has been granted and the drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (&ldquo;FDA&rdquo;)
that would be expensive and time-consuming for a potential generic manufacturer to challenge.<SUP>8</SUP> This strategy can allow branded
drug makers to hold off generic (or biosimilar, in the case of a biologic medicine) competition for several years or more.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in">These later-filed patents, which
are referred to as secondary and tertiary<SUP>9</SUP> patents, relate to properties of the drug other than the active ingredient, such
as methods of administration, manufacturing processes, dosing regimens, and additional indications.<SUP>10</SUP> Critics of the practice
argue that secondary patents tend to be low quality, as they are invalidated in litigation at a higher rate than primary patents, and
that they allow drug makers to benefit from extended exclusivity periods without engaging in additional innovation.<SUP>11</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in"><U>Secondary patents have a significant
impact on health care spending, exacerbating inequalities in access to medicines and straining both public and private sector budgets</U>.
One study analyzed the 12 best-selling drugs, which had been on the market for an average of 15 years, and found large numbers of secondary
patents providing an average exclusivity period of 38 years.<SUP>12</SUP> That study called pat<FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">ent abuse
the &ldquo;root cause&rdquo; of unsustainably high drug prices. </FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">_____________________________</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>5</SUP> https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46221.pdf,
at 1.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>6</SUP> https://www.fda.gov/files/drugs/published/Exclusivity-and-Generic-Drugs--What-Does-It-Mean-.pdf;
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6534750/ (&ldquo;<FONT STYLE="color: #212121; background-color: white">Prices can drop as
much as 20% when the first generic enters the market; with multiple generics, the prices may eventually drop by 80&ndash;85%.&rdquo;)</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>7</SUP> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7592140/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>8</SUP> <U>See</U> ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7592140/(&ldquo;
<FONT STYLE="color: #1E1E1E">The denser the web of secondary patents, the more difficult it is for generics to develop their generic equivalents,
even if they know that only a few patents of a large portfolio would, in fact, be valid and infringed by their products.&rdquo;)</FONT>;
https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46221.pdf, at 1-2.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>9</SUP> A secondary patent relates to &ldquo;<FONT STYLE="background-color: white">peripheral
features&rdquo; of a drug, <FONT STYLE="color: #6B6B6B">while a </FONT></FONT>tertiary patent applies to a drug-device combination, such
as the EpiPen. https://blog.petrieflom.law.harvard.edu/2018/04/30/tertiary-patents-an-emerging-phenomenon/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>10</SUP> https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R46221.pdf,
at 9.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>11</SUP> <FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt"><U>E.g.</U>,
Editorial Board, &ldquo;Save America&rsquo;s Patent System,&rdquo; The New York Times, Apr. 17, 2022<SUP>[1]</SUP> (&ldquo;<FONT STYLE="background-color: white">Twelve
of the drugs that Medicare spends the most on are protected by more than 600 patents in total, according to the committee. Many of those
patents contain little that's truly new. But the thickets they create have the potential to extend product monopolies for decades. In
so doing, they promise to add billions to the nation's soaring health care costs -- and to pharmaceutical coffers.&rdquo;); https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/25/high-drug-prices-caused-by-us-patent-system.html;
https://www.i-mak.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/I-MAK-Overpatented-Overpriced-Report.pdf; </FONT>Robin Feldman, &ldquo;Our patent system
is broken. And it could be stifling innovation,&rdquo; The Washington Post, Aug. 8, 2021<SUP>[1]</SUP></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><SUP>12</SUP> https://www.i-mak.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/I-MAK-Overpatented-Overpriced-Report.pdf</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center; background-color: white">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center; background-color: white">We are not asking for
authority to vote your proxy and no proxy cards will be accepted. Please vote your proxy according to the instructions in [company&rsquo;s]
proxy statement.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; background-color: white"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; background-color: white"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; background-color: white">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in">Another study by the same
organization found &ldquo;questionable &ndash; and likely unmerited&rdquo; secondary patents on three blockbuster drugs and estimated
that the U.S. healthcare system would bear approximately $55 billion in excess costs for those three drugs during the extended exclusivity
periods facilitated by the drugs&rsquo; secondary patents.<SUP>13</SUP> (Studies show that the introduction of generic versions of a drug
lead to significantly lower prices.<SUP>14</SUP>)</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">The role of secondary and tertiary patents in keeping
prescription drug prices high has received increasing amounts of media and regulatory scrutiny. For example, the editorial boards of <I>The
New York Times<SUP>15</SUP></I> and <I>USA Today</I> published editorials decrying the proliferation of such patents and their impact
on the health care system. Patent thickets are often depicted as &lsquo;gaming&rdquo; or &ldquo;abusing&rdquo; the U.S. patent system.
<FONT STYLE="color: #A6A6A6"><SUP>16</SUP></FONT> Gilead has faced criticism and lawsuits over its development timeline for HIV medicines,
and the topic resurfaced again in December 2019. &ldquo;In a petition at the U.S. Patent &amp; Trademark Office, HIV advocates said Gilead
delayed development of new, safer meds to protect the market for older meds. Gilead has sought to extend patent protections for its newer
drugs, but advocates say that would only reward the company&rsquo;s move to shelve the drugs for years at the expense of patients.&rdquo;<SUP>17</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: small-caps 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: normal"><U>Rising
pressures to contain specialty drug costs, combined with a perception that branded drug firms are engaged in anti-competitive behavior,
could lead to increased regulation</U>. Indeed, President Biden issued an Executive Order (the &ldquo;E.O.&rdquo;) in 2021 directing the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to &ldquo;promote generic drug and biosimilar competition.&rdquo;<SUP>18</SUP> <FONT STYLE="background-color: white">Pursuant
to the E.O., the FDA and Patent and Trademark Office (&ldquo;PTO&rdquo;) are collaborating to implement strategies to lower drug prices.<SUP>19</SUP></FONT></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: small-caps 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: normal"></FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps">&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps; background-color: white">_____________________________</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps; background-color: white">&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps; background-color: white"><SUP>13</SUP></FONT>
https://www.i-mak.org/americas-overspend/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps; background-color: white"><SUP>14</SUP></FONT>
https://www.fda.gov/media/133509/download, at 2; https://www.fda.gov/media/161540/download, at 6; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34904207/;
https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/105th-congress-1997-1998/reports/pharm.pdf; https://www.cbo.gov/publication/57772</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps; background-color: white"><SUP>15</SUP></FONT>
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/16/opinion/patents-reform-drug-prices.html</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps; background-color: white"><SUP>16</SUP></FONT>
<U>See</U>, <U>e.g.</U>, https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/consumer-group-says-drugmakers-abuse-us-patent-system-keep-prices-high-2022-09-16/;
https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/12/perspectives/drug-patents-abuse/index.html; https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-drugs-health-care-pharm-1024-20171023-story.html;
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/gaming-us-patent-system-keeping-drug-prices-sky-high-report-says-rcna47507</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps; background-color: white"><SUP>17</SUP></FONT>
https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/gilead-seeking-patent-extension-hiv-meds-runs-into-pushback-from-patient-advocates</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps; background-color: white"><SUP>18</SUP></FONT>
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/07/09/executive-order-on-promoting-competition-in-the-american-economy/,
at section 5(p)(vi).</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: small-caps; background-color: white"><SUP>19</SUP></FONT>
https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/PTO-FDA-nextsteps-7-6-2022.pdf</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center; background-color: white">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center; background-color: white">We are not asking for
authority to vote your proxy and no proxy cards will be accepted. Please vote your proxy according to the instructions in [company&rsquo;s]
proxy statement.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; background-color: white"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; background-color: white"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: small-caps 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in"><FONT STYLE="font-variant: normal; background-color: white">The
relationship between extended exclusivity periods and high drug prices is addressed in several bills that have been introduced, as well
as in congressional hearings.<SUP>20</SUP> I</FONT><FONT STYLE="font-variant: normal">n June 2022, a bipartisan group of Senators wrote
to the director of the PTO about patent thickets. The letter stated: &ldquo;In the drug industry, with the most minor, even cosmetic,
tweaks to delivery mechanisms, dosages, and formulations, companies are able to obtain dozens or hundreds of patents for a single drug.
This practice impedes generic drugs&rsquo; production, hurts competition, and can even extend exclusivity beyond the congressionally mandated
patent term.&rdquo; It closed by asking the PTO to &ldquo;consider changes to your regulations and practices to address [overpatenting]
problems where they start, during examination.&rdquo;<SUP>21</SUP></FONT></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in">Pharmaceutical firms argue that
secondary and tertiary patents are necessary to incentivize continued innovation related to a drug. But the Proposal does not seek to
prohibit the Company from applying for secondary and tertiary patents on its medicines, only for the impact on patient access to be part
of the mix of considerations. There is evidence that companies delay marketing an innovation on an existing drug by filing for secondary
patents strategically, close to the primary patent&rsquo;s expiration, in order to provide the longest exclusivity extension.<SUP>22</SUP>
This timing suggests that patient benefit is not always the sole motivation for such innovations on approved medicines.</P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">Some companies argue that their existing patient
access programs, such as co-pay assistance and medicine donations, obviate the need for a Process. Gilead Sciences notes in its Statement
of Opposition to the Proposal, &ldquo;In the U.S., our patient support programs help ease the burden that a complex and difficult-to-manage
healthcare landscape can place on patients and families.&rdquo; Such programs, while facilitating access for a select group of patients
do not promote affordability more generally, as the introduction of a generic drug would. Helping a relatively small number of patients
does not address systemic issues, such as the strain placed on the health care system by extended exclusivity periods and the societal
impact of undertreatment of disease, which can include lower labor force participation and productivity, increased social services costs,
poorer patient quality of life, and higher health care costs later on in a patient&rsquo;s life when the impact of undertreatment may
be more difficult to remedy.<SUP>23</SUP></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in">More generally, reliance on patent
thickets may actually diminish branded drug manufacturers&rsquo; incentives to continue developing innovative medicines. If a manufacturer
can obtain a longer period of exclusivity for a top-selling drug, it has a reduced motivation to develop new drugs.<SUP>24</SUP> As one
academic study put it: &ldquo;<FONT STYLE="color: #212121; background-color: white">Rather than creating new medicines&mdash;sallying
forth into new frontiers for the benefit of society&mdash;drug companies are focusing their time and effort extending the patent life
of old products. This, of course, is not the innovation one would hope for. The greatest creativity at pharmaceutical companies should
be in the lab, not in the legal department.&rdquo;<SUP>25</SUP></FONT></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; color: #212121">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; color: #212121"><FONT STYLE="background-color: white">_____________________________</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; color: #212121"><FONT STYLE="background-color: white">&nbsp;</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="color: #212121; background-color: white"><SUP>20</SUP></FONT>
<U>See</U> https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-cassidy-introduce-remedy-act-to-lower-drug-prices-by-curbing-patent-manipulation-promoting-generic-competition#:~:text=The%20REMEDY%20Act%20amends%20FDA,that%20delay%20generic%20market%20entry;
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/2873; https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Testimony%20-%20July%2013%202021_Rachel_Moodie.pdf;
https://oversight.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-judiciary-antitrust-subcommittee-to-hold-hearing-on-anticompetitive; https://energycommerce.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/hearing-on-lowering-the-cost-of-prescription-drugs-reducing-barriers-to;
https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/drug-pricing-in-america-a-prescription-for-change-part-i</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="color: #212121; background-color: white"><SUP>21</SUP></FONT>
www.leahy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/20220608%20Letter%20to%20PTO%20on%20repetitive%20patents.pdf</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="color: #212121; background-color: white"><SUP>22</SUP></FONT>
<U>See</U> ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7592140/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="color: #212121; background-color: white"><SUP>23</SUP></FONT>
<U>See</U>, <U>e.g</U>., https://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/Focus-on-Health-Making-Mental-Health-Count.pdf; https://www.lse.ac.uk/business/consulting/assets/documents/the-value-of-early-diagnosis-and-treatment-in-parkinsons-disease.pdf;
https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/health-care/economic-cost-of-health-disparities.html; https://www.mathematica.org/news/new-study-uncovers-the-heavy-financial-toll-of-untreated-maternal-mental-health-conditions.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="color: #212121; background-color: white"><SUP>24</SUP></FONT>
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7592140/</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><FONT STYLE="color: #212121; background-color: white"><SUP>25</SUP></FONT>
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6534750/</P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center; background-color: white">We are not asking for
authority to vote your proxy and no proxy cards will be accepted. Please vote your proxy according to the instructions in [company&rsquo;s]
proxy statement.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; background-color: white"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; background-color: white"></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; background-color: white">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; color: #212121"></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in; color: #212121"><FONT STYLE="background-color: white">Finally,
the existence of disclosure on a company&rsquo;s pricing and/or access programs is sometimes held up as a reason the Proposal is unnecessary.
Disclosures, standing alone, are insufficient because they do not effect a change in a Process like the one sought by the Proposal. The
adoption of a Process is the Proposal&rsquo;s core element, and the reporting component is designed to ensure that shareholders are apprised
of Gilead Sciences adoption of a Process.</FONT></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in"><FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">We
recognize the value created by pharmaceutical innovation, and the Proposal would not limit in any way the Company&rsquo;s ability to obtain
so-called primary patents covering drugs&rsquo; active ingredients or require a particular outcome when the Company analyzes whether to
pursue secondary and tertiary patents. The Proposal simply asks </FONT>the C<FONT STYLE="font-size: 10pt">ompany to take the impact on
patient access into account when making decisions about applying for such patents. It would not impose a specific weighting for access
considerations, nor would it dictate how access should be measured. The Company would have total discretion over those and other details.
</FONT></P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left"><B>We therefore urge shareholders to vote FOR Proposal
8. </B></P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">&nbsp;</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: left">For more information, please contact Judy Byron,
Consultant for the Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board, jbyron@ipjc.org/</P>

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<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center; background-color: white">We are not asking for
authority to vote your proxy and no proxy cards will be accepted. Please vote your proxy according to the instructions in [company&rsquo;s]
proxy statement.</P>

<P STYLE="font: 10pt Times New Roman, Times, Serif; margin: 0pt 0; text-align: center; background-color: white"></P>

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