Serostim is Serono

Serono

Serono is a biotechnology company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The company was founded as the Serono Pharmacolodgical Institute by Cesare Serono in 1906 in Italy. A key step in its development was the discovery of a method of extracting urinary gonadotropins by Dr Piero Donini allowing...

's brand name prescription drug

Prescription drug

A prescription medication is a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a medical prescription before it can be obtained. The term is used to distinguish it from over-the-counter drugs which can be obtained without a prescription...

 form of synthetic

Recombinant DNA

Recombinant DNA molecules are DNA sequences that result from the use of laboratory methods to bring together genetic material from multiple sources, creating sequences that would not otherwise be found in biological organisms...

 growth hormone

Growth hormone

Growth hormone is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction and regeneration in humans and other animals. Growth hormone is a 191-amino acid, single-chain polypeptide that is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior...

, marketed for AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 wasting

Cachexia

Cachexia or wasting syndrome is loss of weight, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness, and significant loss of appetite in someone who is not actively trying to lose weight...

.

In December 2007, the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts settled a class-action lawsuit that involved Merck Serono

Merck Serono

Merck Serono is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. In September 2006, Merck KGaA announced its intent to purchase the majority of Serono shares from Ernesto Bertarelli and the Bertarelli family. The Merck-Serono merger was announced on September 21, 2006...

 and the drug Serostim. The lawsuit claims that Merck Serono encouraged doctors to prescribe Serostim off-label for criteria that were not approved by the FDA. Merck Serono denies these claims and any liability. However, Merck Serono has entered into a settlement "solely to avoid the further expense, inconvenience, burden, and uncertainty of these lawsuits."

The settlement will pay consumers of Serostim who paid the full cash amount or a co-payment as part of their medical treatment.