Many of our operations and facilities, including those essential to our manufacturing, R&D and commercialization/distribution activities, are located in regions subject to natural or man-made disasters, such as climate change, earthquakes, hurricanes, rising sea levels and flooding, fires, extreme heat, drought or other extreme weather conditions, or efforts taken by third parties to prevent or mitigate such disasters, such as public safety power shutoffs and facility shutdowns. The severity and frequency of weather-related events has been amplified, and is expected to continue to be amplified, by climate change. Such natural disasters have caused, and in the future may cause, damage to and/or disrupt our operations, which may result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. For example, our facility in Cork, Ireland, where we conduct commercial manufacturing, packaging and labeling and perform quality control testing and final release of many of our products, temporarily suspended on-site operations as a result of the flooding caused by Storm Babet in October 2023. Additionally, our corporate headquarters in Foster City and certain R&D and manufacturing facilities are located in California, a seismically active region. Although we have business continuity plans and contingencies in place and conduct periodic assessments of our natural disaster risk as part of our overall enterprise risk management program, a major earthquake or other natural disaster can result in significant recovery time and a prolonged interruption to our operational and business activities. We may be required to incur significant costs to remedy the effects of such natural disasters and to resume or restore our operations, which could adversely impact us. Our suppliers and third-party manufacturers and corporate partners face similar risks, and any disruption to their operations could have an adverse effect on our manufacturing and supply chain. Also, see risks under the headings “We may face manufacturing difficulties, delays or interruptions, including at our third-party manufacturers and corporate partners” and “We may not be able to obtain materials or supplies necessary to conduct clinical trials or to manufacture and sell our products, which could limit our ability to generate revenues. ”
In addition, growing concern regarding climate change has resulted in an evolving legal and regulatory landscape, with new requirements enacted to prevent, mitigate or adapt to the implications of climate change. These regulations, which can differ across jurisdictions, subject Gilead to many transitional risks, including, for example, new or expanded carbon pricing or taxes, increased compliance costs, restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, investment in new technologies, increased carbon disclosure and transparency, investments in data gathering and reporting systems, upgrades of facilities to meet new building codes and the redesign of utility systems, which could increase the company’s operating costs, including the cost of electricity and energy. Our suppliers and third-party manufacturers and corporate partners face similar transition risks and may pass along any increased costs to the company.