Switzerland's Serono to pay 704 million dollars to settle US probe

AFP, October, 2005

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Swiss pharmaceutical group Serono SA and its US subsidiaries agreed to pay 704 million dollars to settle criminal and civil allegations of fraud to boost sales of a drug for AIDS patients, officials said.

The Justice Department described the settlement as "the third largest health care fraud recovery by the US."

"Serono abused the system of testing and approval, and put its desire to sell more drugs above the interest of patients," said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in a statement.

The settlement followed a probe of Serono's Serostim drug, which is used to treat AIDS wasting, a condition involving involuntary weight loss in AIDS patients.

Officials said Serono conspired with the maker of an unapproved medical device to calculate the loss of body cell mass "in order to increase the market for Serostim."

Under the accord, US government health programs will be able to "recoup all ...