Serono, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, will pay $704 million to resolve criminal charges and civil allegations involving its promotion and marketing of Serostim, a drug used to treat AIDS wasting.
The suit originated as a qui tam under the False Claims Act. The whistleblowers will share approximately $51.8 million.
The company allegedly conspired with a medical device manufacturer to market a device for calculating body mass., used in diagnosing AIDS wasting disease. The U.S. Attorney in Boston described the testing procedure as “almost voodoolike” and said that he suspected some patients may have also suffered unnecessary side effects as a result of taking the AIDS drug.
U.S. Newswire reported on the settlement on October 17, 2005 and a story ran in the New York Times (subscription required) on October 18, 2005.