Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD)

The first indication came here, on January 31, when an article reported on the recovery of a man with 2019-nCov, first reported on the New England Journal of Medicine on January 29, after being given Gilead Sciences' remdesivir. This medication along with NHC, have proved enhanced capability at countering coronaviruses in preclinical trials. First thing in the morning, Gilead rose, and has since grown steadily.

Chinese authorities are now looking forward to test on remdesivir, since it is one of the most promising treatments against 2019-nCov as of yet, and they are boosting the trials on the drug. Will Gilead cooperate with Chinese authorities in the research, and manufacture of the drug? That remains to be seen, since China is keen to show that it respects intellectual property, since the concerns raised by the United States under Trump's infamous "tariff war". But since they are looking for a patent on the drug, they may not use a "compulsory license", which would grant them the right, overriding existing patents, of manufacturing the drug due to the level of emergency.

The first companies to rise as a result of the crisis were and will be the ones that announced their plans on methods to diagnose the virus. The second ones are those that with current means and resources can help counter and even stop the spread of the coronavirus. And at last, the big rise will come from those pharmaceutical companies that manage to develop a cure or vaccine. Gilead belongs to the second group. Will they be able to speed up enough the production of remdesivir?