CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
State and federal officials have intensified their probe of drugmaker Serono over the company's marketing practices of its AIDS-related wasting treatment, Serostim, which is commonly sold on the black market to bodybuilders to increase muscle mass, The Wall Street Journal reports. Many AIDS patients receive the drug through the Medicaid program. Serono in 2001 received a subpoena from the U.S. attorney's office in Boston requesting 10 years' worth of documents pertaining to marketing and sales of the drug, particularly Medicaid billing for the medication. Similar inquiries are under way in California, Florida, and New York. The investigations are now also focusing on whether the company violated federal and state false claims acts and antikickback laws that prohibit companies from offering incentives to doctors to prescribe a drug paid for through government programs, the Journal quotes sources close to the company as saying. Federal officials also have subpoenaed pharmacy contracts, marketing documents, and invoices to see whether the Switzerland-based company gave pharmacies unreported rebates or discounts on the medication. Serono spokeswoman Lisa Ellen told the Journal that the company doesn't comment on legal matters. The U.S. attorney's office in Boston would neither confirm nor deny the investigations, according to the newspaper. Serostim is prescribed to about 5,000 U.S. AIDS patients each year to combat AIDS-related wasting and to boost body muscle mass. But the drug is commonly sold illegally to bodybuilders for $1,000 to $2,000 for a one-week supply. The prescription medication costs AIDS patients about $20,000 for a three-month supply. The drug's high price tag makes it a common target for drug counterfeiters. Serono has issued public warnings about counterfeit batches of Serostim reaching the consumer market at least three times since 2001.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
31 Period Films of Lesbians and Bi Women in Love That Will Take You Back
December 09 2024 1:00 PM
18 of the most batsh*t things N.C. Republican governor candidate Mark Robinson has said
October 30 2024 11:06 AM
True
After 20 years, and after tonight, Obama will no longer be the Democrats' top star
August 20 2024 12:28 PM
Trump ally Laura Loomer goes after Lindsey Graham: ‘We all know you’re gay’
September 13 2024 2:28 PM
These 15 major companies caved to the far right and stopped DEI programs
January 24 2025 1:11 PM
True
Latest Stories
Lawsuit challenges Trump's 'two genders' passport policy
February 12 2025 6:00 AM
Immigration's public image crisis is fueled by Trump and right-wing extremists
February 11 2025 7:10 PM
Pete Hegseth receives jeers from U.S. service members’ families at military base in Germany
February 11 2025 5:12 PM
Booz Allen Hamilton drops sponsorship of WorldPride, cites Donald Trump's anti-DEI order
February 11 2025 4:29 PM
Dad's heartwarming reaction to his son coming out as gay goes viral 8 years later
February 11 2025 12:55 PM
Trump taps gay MAGA loyalist Ric Grenell as interim head of Kennedy Center
February 11 2025 11:52 AM
Google Calendar removes Pride Month and Black History Month shortly after dropping DEI
February 11 2025 11:20 AM