Business

Mon Aug 11 18:31:36 PDT 2008

(Adds background, stock price)

LOS ANGELES, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc said on Monday it won U.S. approval to promote its AIDS drug Viread for treating adults with chronic hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening infection that can destroy the liver. Gilead estimates that more than 400 million people worldwide have the disease. Complications kill up to 1.2 million people per year.

Viread, known generically as tenofovir, is a once-daily tablet that works by blocking an enzyme necessary for the virus to replicate in liver cells.

The drug has been available in the United States as a treatment for HIV infection in adults since 2001.

Shares of Gilead, which lost 34 cents to close at $56.43 on Nasdaq, were slightly higher at $57.00 in after hours trading.

(Reporting by Deena Beasley in Los Angeles and Lisa Richwine in Washington)

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