Serono Not even a whistle

Legal settlements are a bit like locomotives. You can disagree over which way they are heading, but you know there is one nearby. Not so with Serono’s $725m set aside to cover any settlement over kickback payments by former US executives. This is a massive amount, nearly 9% of the Swiss group’s market capitalisation. But the sheer stupidity of the «sales plan» guaranteed a huge settlement. The indicted executives promised doctors a trip to a conference in Cannes in exchange for writing ten extr...