On the other hand, Gilead's most impressive acquisition deal was probably its 2011 purchase of Pharmasset. Some scoffed at Gilead paying what was considered at the time to be a sky-high price of $11 billion. Gilead had the last laugh, though. The company picked up hepatitis C drug Sovaldi in the transaction, which made enough to recover the cost of buying Pharmasset less than a year after winning regulatory approval.