The Business of Saving Lives

‘We don't apologize for being highly profitable until our patents run out,” says the man seated in the barest office of any corporate leader I've visited. There's almost nothing on the walls, and the occupant, John C. Martin, tells me it's because he moved into the space only “at the beginning of the summer”—long enough ago, one would think, to find an etching or two. One cannot escape the feeling that Mr. Martin, a 66-year-old chemical engineer who is executive chairman of Gilead Sciences, is not greatly given to adornment. He's a plainspoken Midwesterner who lights up at the chance to talk about the medicines his company makes. And yes, it also makes money.