On Wednesday, Shares of The Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO), lost -0.19% to $42.21.
The Coca-Cola Company recently declared it has signed letters of intent with three U.S. bottlers to grant expanded distribution territories in seven states as part of its ongoing efforts to refranchise half of Company-owned U.S. bottler-delivered volume by the end of 2017.
In each territory, The Coca-Cola Company will grant exclusive rights to these bottlers for the sale and distribution of bottler-delivered Coca-Cola beverages. In addition, Coca-Cola Refreshments, the Company-owned U.S. bottler, will sell its sales and distribution assets to the expanding local bottling partner. New letters of intent provide that:
- Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, based in Tampa, will assume additional territory in north Florida counting Brevard, Daytona, Jacksonville, Gainesville and Orlando.
- Great Lakes Coca-Cola Distribution, L.L.C., based in Chicago, will assume additional territory counting the state of Michigan, the majority of Wisconsin counting Milwaukee, southern Minnesota counting Minneapolis and portions of northeast Iowa and northern Illinois adjacent to its Chicago territory.
- Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company, based in Atlantic, Iowa, will assume new territory in southeastern Iowa, counting Cedar Rapids and Quad Cities, western Illinois and northeastern Missouri.
Comprising with previous transactions, The Coca-Cola Company and these bottlers will work collaboratively to benefit from more rational and contiguous operating territories across the United States; an improved, more integrated information technology platform across bottlers; and a new beverage agreement that supports the Coca-Cola system’s evolving U.S. operating model.
The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures and distributes various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company primarily offers sparkling beverages and still beverages. Its sparkling beverages comprise nonalcoholic ready-to-drink beverages with carbonation, such as carbonated energy drinks, and carbonated waters and flavored waters.
Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), inclined 0.07% to $101.73, during its last trading session.
Gilead Sciences, confirmed that the company fulfilled a request for compassionate access to GS-5734, a novel nucleotide analogue in development for the potential treatment of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). The request was received last week and drug was shipped later the same day. The compound is presently being offered to a female patient in the United Kingdom, as described earlier by officials from the Royal Free Hospital in London.
“It is very encouraging to hear that the patient in question is doing better and is no longer in critical condition. Our thoughts and wishes for continued recovery are with her, with her family and the excellent medical team at Royal Free Hospital,” commented Norbert Bischofberger, PhD, Gilead’s Executive Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Scientific Officer. “We recognize the urgent need for treatments to address Ebola and we are working with collaborators to advance development of GS-5734 as quickly as possible.”
GS-5734 was discovered as part of Gilead’s program to screen compounds in its libraries for activity against a range of potential emerging viruses, counting Ebola. In partnershipwith the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), the company identified GS-5734 in vitro activity against the Ebola virus.
Gilead Sciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in areas of unmet medical need in North America, South America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company’s products comprise Stribild, Complera/Eviplera, Atripla, Truvada, Viread, Emtriva, Tybost, and Vitekta for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in adults; and Harvoni, Sovaldi, Viread, and Hepsera products for the treatment of liver disease.
