California Justices Scrutinize Gilead Patients’ Liability Theory

Gilead Sciences Inc.'s obligation to patients is likely a public policy question for the state legislature, California Associate Justice Goodwin H. Liu said during oral arguments Wednesday, as he questioned the judicial system’s role in deciding drug manufacturers’ development obligations.

More than 24,000 patients who took Gilead’s HIV treatment allege they were harmed when the manufacturer stopped developing another treatment that would have had fewer side effects—a potentially groundbreaking theory of liability.

“The fact is that the law does not prevent a company from reaping profits from its innovation,” Liu said on Wednesday during oral arguments at the California Supreme ...