Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Sovaldi was a real breakthrough in the fight against the chronic liver disease hepatitis C (HCV). The condition may show no symptoms for years after initial infection but can slowly become debilitating. Hepatitis C affects as many as 200 million people worldwide, and before Sovaldi, the approved drug regimen could treat only about 50% of cases and could cause serious side effects. Treatment was generally long - 24 to 48 weeks - and arduous. Sovaldi, on the other hand, could cure more than 90% of cases in a matter of weeks at a cost, in the United States, of around $94,000. The pricing caused controversy, but the drug proved transformative for HCV patients, their families, and doctors. Sovaldi also proved a huge windfall for investors when it received FDA approval in 2013 and entered the pharmaceutical marketplace the following year. So far, Gilead shareholders have seen a 2:1 split, several dividend payouts, and gains of more than 155% since 2013. Sales of Sovaldi and Gilead's other HCV drug, Harvoni, topped $12.5 billion in 2015 alone. There's just one big, expensive problem... Tags: Biotech , biotech profits , biotech stocks , how to invest , how to profit in biotech , pharma stocks , pharmaceuticals , profit protection , stocks to watch To get full access to all Money Morning content, click here About Money Morning: Money Morning gives you access to a team of ten market experts with more than 250 years of combined investing experience – for free . Our experts – who have appeared on FOXBusiness, CNBC, NPR, and BloombergTV – deliver daily investing tips and stock picks, provide analysis with actions to take, and answer your biggest market questions. Our goal is to help our millions of e-newsletter subscribers and Moneymorning.com visitors become smarter, more confident investors. Disclaimer: © 2016 Money Morning and Money Map Press. All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright of the United States and international treaties. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution (electronic or otherwise, including the world wide web), of content from this webpage, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of Money Morning. 16 W. Madison St. Baltimore, MD, 21201. The post How to Protect Your Biotech Profits from This Legal Limbo appeared first on Money Morning - We Make Investing Profitable .