Serono, a global biotech company headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 5, 2007 became a subsidiary of Merck KGaA and was relaunched as Merck Serono. It has eight biotechnology products on the market and more than 25 ongoing preclinical and clinical development projects.

Merck Serono currently has products available in four core therapy areas: multiple sclerosis, reproductive health, dermatology, and growth and metabolism. In addition to these areas, the company's research and development programs are focused on oncology and autoimmune diseases.

The company's leading biologics are:

Rebif (interferon beta 1a). Rebif is a treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system.

Saizen (Serostim). Saizen is therapeutically equivalent to the natural growth hormone produced by the body and is used to treat growth hormone deficiency in children and adults, Turner's syndrome, and chronic renal failure.

Gonal-f (follitropin alfa). Gonal is a highly consistent recombinant human follicle-stimulating hormone, used to supplement or replace naturally occuring follicle-stimulating hormone as a treatment for infertility in men or women.

Ovidrel (choriogonadotropin alfa). Ovidrel is the world's first recombinant chorionic gonadotropin (r-hCG) for the treatment of anovulation, the most common cause of infertility in women. Ovidre is administered after the stimulation of the growth of follicles (or eggs) by another hormone (follicle stimulating hormone) and is used to trigger ovulation in women with anovulation and to promote final maturation of eggs in the ovaries of women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ART), such as in-vitro fertilization.

Luveris (lutropin alfa). Luveris is a pure luteinizing hormone (recombinant human LH) for the treatment of female infertility, and is used in combination with human follicle-stimulating hormone like Gonal-f for the stimulation of follicles in the ovaries of women with severe LH and FSH deficiency.

Cetrotide (cetrorelix acetate). Cetrotide is a new generation gonadotropin hormone releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist used to prevent a premature ovulation in controlled ovarian stimulation prior to assisted reproductive technologies.

Raptiva (efalizumab). Raptiva is used for the treatment of chronic moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults.

*Information above taken from materials provided by Serono