Mooney gets his wishes- SERONO's troubles

[Guest guest]

Of course, this press release does not mention that Mooney was the first to bring this up in 1999 and was criticized by many in the community. Read http://www.medibolics.com/kickback2.htm

PRESS RELEASEPUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 28, 2005

AHF VS. SERONO: ANATOMY OF ANADVOCACY VICTORYA TIMELINE OF AHF'S CAMPAIGN TO HOLD SERONO ACCOUNTABLE FOR IMPROPERPRICING PRACTICES INVOLVING THE AIDS WASTING DRUG, SEROSTIM

April 28, 2005, LOS ANGELES, CA - Amid the ongoing investigation of the Swiss biotechnology company, Serono Inc., by the US Attorney's office over improper sales and pricing practices involving the drug Serostim, a $7,000 a month drug to combat wasting in AIDS patients, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest AIDS organization in the US, has been at the forefront of efforts to hold the drug company accountable and offers the following timeline of its advocacy efforts:

February, 2003, LOS ANGELES, CA - AIDS Healthcare Foundation begins advocating for stricter controls on California Department of Health Services (DHS) prescriptions of Serostim. Citing the questionable medical necessity of the expensive drug and noting the high degree of fraud associated with black market sales of the drug to body builders and weight lifters, AHF campaigns for California to require prior authorization of the pricey drug before making it available through programs like Medi-Cal and AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).

April, 2003, SACRAMENTO, CA - After intensive advocacy efforts by AIDS Healthcare Foundation, California state officials announce new regulations requiring prior authorization for Serostim. Prior authorization status still allows for the drug to be available and prescribed through programs overseen by Department of Health Services (DHS) such as California's cash-strapped AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), a source of AIDS drugs for many Californians living with HIV/AIDS; however, a DHS official must review and approve the prescription as being medically necessary for the particular Medi-Cal patient rather than it being automatically available on DHS drug program formulary without question. AHF President, Weinstein praises the administration for responding to pleas from AHF and other advocates to clamp down on Serostim abuse in a time of threatened health-care cuts.

July, 2003, LOS ANGELES, CA - Serono attempts to challenge the new California Department of Health Services regulation requiring prior authorization for Serostim. Two AIDS Healthcare Foundation officials, AHF President, Weinstein and AHF Chief of Medicine, Dr. Farthing, M.D. provide affidavits to the state's Attorney General's office in support of DHS. "As California tries to grapple with a $38 billion budget deficit, Serono had the hubris to file a writ to try to block the Department of Health Service's move to place Serostim -- a non-essential drug that has cost Medi-Cal more than $175 million over the past four years -- on a prior authorization status. I fully support Medi-Cal's decision to require prior authorization Serostim, "said Weinstein. Dr. Farthing added, "While Serostim may be effective in treating AIDS wasting, the benefits that can be had from Serostim can be gotten more directly and more beneficially from other treatments. AIDS wasting that I and other AHF physicians have seen results not from contracting HIV/AIDS, but from failure of adherence to a treatment regimen...In other words, if most patients were properly treated for their HIV/AIDS, there would be no wasting, and no need for additional interventions such as Serostim."

August, 2003, Los Angeles, CA - AIDS Healthcare Foundation releases a statement publicly criticizing Serostim saying that the pricey drug is not essential for treatment and should not be on the Medicaid formulary. AHF cites the fact that too many patients use Serostim to enhance their appearance rather than improve their health and many others sell their allotment on the black market to bodybuilders, who buy the drug to build muscle mass for a fraction of the drug's Medicaid price tag. "It doesn't really provide any clinical benefit," said Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare. "We're struggling to provide care to the poorest of the poor for HIV services," he said. "At a time when Medicaid is cutting back, Serostim shouldn't be in the formula at all."

August, 2003, LOS ANGELES, CA - The Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles (Case No. BS-083758) rejects Serono Inc.'s motion to challenge California's Department of Health Services (DHS) prior authorization requirement for Serono's drug Serostim and the drug remains on prior authorization status.

August, 2003 to April, 2005, LOS ANGELES, CA - AIDS Healthcare Foundation's advocacy continues as the international and national press pick up the story of Serono's drug-pricing scandal. Public statements by AHF President, Weinstein and AHF Chief of Medicine, Dr. Farthing, M.D. continue to pressure Serono to come clean about their improper sales and pricing practices involving Serostim. An article published in the Wall Street Journal on January 19, 2004 about the high degree of Medicaid fraud associated with black market sales of the drug to body builders and weight lifters, illustrates doctors' growing skepticism over Serostim's treatment value with a quote from Dr. Farthing: "I would care less if I couldn't prescribe it at all."

April, 2005, LOS ANGELES, CA - AIDS Healthcare Foundation announces support for the United States Department of Justice indictment of four former Serono executives, on charges of bribing doctors to write prescriptions for the company's AIDS wasting drug, Serostim, and urges federal authorities to hold the company itself accountable over the bribery scandal involving its pricey AIDS wasting drug. "We are glad to finally see some accountability in the scandal involving the sales and marketing of this expensive AIDS wasting drug," said AHF President Weinstein.

April, 2005, LOS ANGELES, CA - Following Serono's announcement of the allocation of $725 million to settle a Department of Justice investigation involving Serostim and amid speculation that the company is preparing to pay one of the largest ever settlements in a government pharmaceutical inquiry, AIDS Healthcare Foundation releases a statement supporting federal authorities' thorough investigation into the company's questionable sales and pricing practices and for holding Serono and its executives accountable over the bribery scandal involving its pricey AIDS wasting drug. "We are pleased to see that Serono will pay the price for its misdeeds and illegal conduct in the sales and marketing of its drug, Serostim," said Weinstein, President of AHF. "It is unfortunate that the company chose to take advantage of physicians, providers and people living with HIV/AIDS to unfairly promote the sales and use of this enormously expensive drug. We thank the federal authorities for zealously investigating and pursuing Serono's corporate malfeasance and greed, and are glad to see that Serono will indeed be held accountable."

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*******************I am transitioning to a new email : nvergel@...so please feel free to answer to this one if you are having problems with my AOL email. Thanks! VergelDirectorProgram for Wellness Restoration, PoWeRA 501 © 3 non profit national organizationpowerusa.orgsalvagetherapies.orgfaciawasting.orgDisclaimerThis information (and any accompanying printed material) is not intended to replace the attention or advice of a physician or other health care professional. Anyone who wishes to embark on any dietary, drug, exercise, or other lifestyle change intended to prevent or treat a specific disease or condition should first consult with and seek clearance from a qualified health care professional.