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Serostim continues to haunt Serono

... Fraudulent marketing The suit, filed by law firm Hagens Berman Sobol, claims that Serono illegally inflated the published average wholesale price of their drugs in order to gain market share and increase profits.The plaintiffs allege that "from 1999 through the present, Serono created and implemented a fraudulent marketing and sales scheme to substantially increase the sales of certain drugs and reap unlawful profits at the expense of Medicare patients, healthcare insurers, consumers and others."The suit goes on to state that these practices included providing free samples and instructions to bill for them, giving financial assistance to doctors as well as providing other financial inducements and hidden discounts.The fine handed down to Serono by a US district court last December was the third biggest ever for healthcare fraud.

The company pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy charges, bringing to a close a four-year investigation by the US authorities.The settlement also barred Serono Laboratories, based in Rockland, Massachusetts, from participating in federal health programmes for five years.The fine was big enough to plunge Serono into the red with a $106 million loss last year despite increased turnover.

No buyer The lawsuit comes as the company seeks a buyer.

Serono has been on the shelf since last November, and both Swiss drug maker Novartis and Britain's GlaxoSmithKline have passed on making an offer.A suggested sale price of $15 billion ...