Gilead’s Dan O’Day is pharma’s most charming executive — but with his deals falling apart, charm may not be enough

The news Gilead Sciences dropped Monday was so disappointing it irked even the nicest guy in biotech.

Brad Loncar, an investor based in Kansas City whose cancer-focused exchange-traded fund holds Gilead shares, is a Ted Lasso-like font of cheeriness amid bio-Twitter’s angry froth. Yet even he was upset about the way Gilead and its CEO, Dan O’Day, released information about a key study of its breast cancer drug, Trodelvy — without any specific data. In 2020, Gilead had paid $21 billion for the drug and its maker, Immunomedics.

“I like him personally and respect his career experience, but how does Dan O’Day keep his job as $GILD CEO with this deal record?” Loncar tweeted. “And probably half the board too.”

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