Gilead Stock Ignites Retail-Trader Frenzy As Trodelvy Cuts Breast Cancer Progression Risk By 38% In Phase 3 Trial

Retail buzz spiked around Gilead Sciences Inc. after the biotech firm on Sunday revealed new data showing that its cancer drug Trodelvy helped patients with one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer live significantly longer before their disease worsened.

The results come from Gilead’s Phase 3 ASCENT-03 trial, which found that combining Trodelvy with chemotherapy cut the risk of disease progression or death by 38% compared with chemotherapy alone. 

Trodelvy Helps Patients Live Longer Without Progression

The trial included patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who are ineligible for immunotherapy. Patients treated with Trodelvy had a median progression-free survival (PFS) of just under 10 months, while those on standard chemotherapy had a PFS of about 7 months.

The duration of responses was also improved, with 12 months on Trodelvy versus just over seven months on chemo. Javier Cortes, who led the study at the International Breast Cancer Center in Spain, said it could "represent the first major treatment advance for this patient population in the 20 years since TNBC was defined."

Manageable Side Effects 

Gilead said Trodelvy’s safety profile was consistent with earlier studies, and most side effects were manageable. The most common were neutropenia (low white blood cell counts) and diarrhea, but fewer patients stopped treatment compared to those on chemotherapy.

Dietmar Berger, Gilead’s Chief Medical Officer, said Trodelvy could become the first antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) used as a standard first-line treatment for TNBC, offering a “much-needed” alternative to chemotherapy.”

The company is already in talks with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and global regulators about expanding the drug’s approval for earlier-stage use.

A Bigger Role Ahead For Trodelvy

These results build on earlier findings from another Gilead study, ASCENT-04/KEYNOTE-D19, where Trodelvy, when paired with Keytruda (pembrolizumab), showed strong benefits for PD-L1-positive TNBC patients.

Trodelvy, which targets the Trop-2 protein, is already approved in over 50 countries to treat later-line TNBC and HR+/HER2– breast cancers. Gilead is also testing it in lung and gynecologic cancers, signaling its ambition to make the drug a cornerstone of its cancer portfolio.

Stocktwits Users See Gilead Riding Defensive-Sector Strength

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Gilead was ‘extremely bullish’ amid ‘high’ message volume.

One user described the stock as one of their top holdings and noted steady inflows into defensive names like healthcare, with Gilead seen as benefiting from renewed growth momentum. 

Another user pointed to a technical breakout in the stock.

Gilead’s stock has risen 36% so far in 2025.

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