We still don’t know who’s going to run Gilead

It has been four months since Gilead Sciences said its CEO, John Milligan, would step down at the end of the year, and it’s still unknown just who’s going to lead the $90 billion drug company as it embarks upon a new chapter.

Investors want someone who knows how to buy stuff, according to RBC analyst Brian Abrahams. The hepatitis C drugs that made Gilead a household name are gradually receding from revenue relevance thanks to rising competition, and that means future growth rests in part on spending cash to acquire new ideas.

According to Abrahams, that might make Jennifer Taubert, now head of pharma at Johnson & Johnson, an ideal candidate. Daniel O'Day, head of Roche’s pharma division, could also be a candidate, as could Paul Clancy, who made his name in CFO roles at Biogen and Alexion. Or, Abrahams notes, there's always former Celgene CEO Bob Hugin, who, you may have heard, has some free time these days.