Abbott Laboratories

Structure

By January 2019, four main areas have been identified in Abbott's structure:

• medical equipment;
• pharmaceuticals;
• laboratory diagnostics;
• medical nutrition.

Business in Russia

Main article: Abbott Russia

Abbott began deliveries to the USSR in the late 1970s.

Business in India

Main article: Abbott India

Performance indicators

Main article: Abbott's financial performance

History

2024: Abbott's baby food causes necrosis. Company fined $0.5 billion

On July 26, 2024, a jury in St. Louis (Missouri, USA) issued a verdict according to which Abbott Laboratories baby food provokes necrosis. The company will have to pay a fine of almost $0.5 billion. Read more here

2023

Recall of defective implants due to faulty Bluetooth

On September 13, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the recall of defective neurostimulation implants manufactured by Abbott. The defect causes the devices to fail, as a result of which additional surgery may be required to remove the product and replace it with a new one. Read more here.

Bigfoot Biomedical Purchase

On September 5, 2023, the American Chemical and Pharmaceutical Corporation Abbott announced an agreement to acquire Bigfoot Biomedical, an artificial pancreas developer. Read more here.

Recall of heart valves that wear out too quickly

On July 31, 2023, Abbott announced the recall and discontinuation of the Trifecta family of heart valves, which the analysis found were wearing out too quickly. Read more here.

Hundreds laid off as demand for rapid tests falls

On May 16, 2023, it became known that the American chemical-pharmaceutical corporation Abbott Laboratories was forced to reduce the number of personnel due to the changed market situation.

A notice on the Maine Department of Labor website says approximately 200 people will be fired at the Westbrook facility that tests for COVID-19. Sales of these products fell sharply amid the easing of restrictions associated with the spread of coronavirus infection. This forced Abbott to take action to reduce costs and reduce the number of employees.

Abbott fires hundreds of employees as demand for rapid tests falls

Documents sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) say Abbott lowered its forecast for COVID-19 test sales in 2023 from $2 billion to $1.5 billion. The company notes that due to the unpredictability of demand, it is not clear to what extent the market situation will have an impact on business and financial performance.

When the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the United States in early 2020, Abbott bought a former sports distribution center in Westbrook as a site to expand its production of rapid coronavirus tests. It was said that the number of personnel at this plant could reach 1200 people. However, due to the uneven spread of the disease and the emergence of new infection options, the company had to adjust the size of the state. In mid-2021, Abbott laid off 400 employees at two facilities in Maine. In early February 2023, it became known that the company would reduce the bulk of temporary workers in Westbrook. Then it was said that no changes in the number of permanent labor on this site are expected. As of December 2022, Abbott employed approximately 115 thousand people worldwide.^[1]

Abbott recalls 4m defective glucometers worldwide

On April 3, 2023, the American Chemical and Pharmaceutical Corporation Abbott initiated a large-scale program to recall readers intended for use in conjunction with FreeStyle Libre systems for measuring glucose levels. In total, about 4.2 million devices distributed from November 2017 to February 2023 fall under the program. Read more here.

Purchase of Cardiovascular Systems (CSI) for $890 million

On February 8, 2023, Abbott announced an agreement to purchase Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (CSI), which is engaged in the development and commercialization of innovative solutions for the treatment of vascular and coronary diseases. Read more here.

2022

Closure of infant formula plant due to detected infection

On January 20, 2023, it became known that the US Department of Justice had opened a criminal investigation against Abbott Laboratories Corporation. The case is related to the scandal concerning the production of infant formula.

It is reported that back in February 2022, Abbott closed its Michigan facility due to a detected infection. Then it was reported that several babies who consumed mixtures made at the Abbott plant received a serious infectious disease. Two children have died. Read more here.

Recall of formula formula due to bacterial infections in children

On February 18, 2022, Abbott Laboratories said it was recalling three types of infant formula following consumer complaints of bacterial contamination that could cause severe illness in infants. Read more here.

2021

Purchase of Walk Vascular blood clot removal equipment developer

On September 2, 2021, Abbott announced the acquisition of Walk Vascular with its Mechanical Aspiration Thrombectomy System. With this transaction, the buyer expanded his presence in the field of endovascular surgery. Read more here.

Payment of $160 million for kickbacks that Alere gave in the supply of diabetic tests

In early August 2021, Abbott agreed to pay $160 million for kickbacks given by its subsidiary Alere in the supply of diabetes tests. Abbott acquired Alere in 2017. Read more here.

Abbott to pay tens of millions to sell notoriously defective medical devices

In July 2021, Abbott agreed to pay $66 million to settle litigation initiated by the US Department of Justice against its own subsidiaries under the False Claims Act.

In particular, the manufacturer of medical equipment will pay $38.75 million at the request of the federal court of Newark (New Jersey) to settle a lawsuit related to a subsidiary of Alere, and $27 million to settle a lawsuit in the case of a subsidiary of St. Jude Medical in federal court of Maryland. Read more here.

Sales of Laboratory Software Business to Francisco Partners

In early July 2021, the global investment company Francisco Partners announced the purchase of Starlims laboratory software business from Abbott. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Read more here.

Recall of Assurity and Endurance pacemakers causing a short circuit

In mid-May 2021, Abbott announced the recall of some pacemakers that are susceptible to short circuit due to the possibility of moisture entering the device. Read more here.

2020

Revenue growth by 8.5%, to $34.608 billion

Abbott Laboratories ended 2020 with sales of $34.61 billion, 8.5% higher than revenue a year ago. The division for the production of medical devices registered a turnover of $11.79 billion, which is 3.7% less than a year earlier.

Sales of devices for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in 2020 amounted to $2.34 billion, down 18% compared to the previous year. This decline turned out to be the strongest among all segments of medical equipment in which Abbott operates.

Abbott revenue up 8.5%

At the same time, the largest categories in the assortment of medical equipment of the company are solutions for diabetes patients: in 2020, they brought the American manufacturer almost $3.27 billion, which is 29.5% more than in 2019. This segment remained the only one with positive dynamics, according to data from Abbott's financial statements.

In 2020, Abbott's sales of neuromodulation technologies turned out to be $702 million, a decrease of 15.5% compared to the previous year. Sales of heart failure equipment for the year fell 3.9% to $740 million.

In the category of products for treatment with structural damage hearts , Abbott's revenues at the end of 2020 decreased by 15.5%, to $1.25 billion. Business in the field of diagnostic solutions in 2020 showed an increase of 40.1% and a volume of $10.81 billion.

It also follows from the reporting that sales of products for children at Abbott in 2020 reached $7.65 billion. This is 3.2% more compared to 2019. This includes milk mixtures (Similac), food substitutes (Glucerna) and food additives (Ensure brand).

As for net profit, in 2020 it amounted to almost $4.5 billion, while in 2019 Abbott made such a profit in the amount of $3.69 billion. Thus, there was an increase of 21.9%.^[2]

Abbott sued competitor for $0.5 billion for stealing technology for heart surgery

At the end of July 2020, Edwards Lifesciences agreed to pay Abbott $368 million in advance to settle a lawsuit over a patent for transcatheter agents for mitral and tricuspid valve surgery. In addition, by mid-2024, the company must pay Abbott about $100 million more in royalties. Read more here.

2019

Robert Ford is Abbott's new CEO

On November 13, 2019, Miles White announced his resignation as CEO of Abbott after 21 years in charge of one of the world's largest medical device manufacturers. He will officially resign in March 2020, and his place will be taken by the president and chief operating officer of the company, 46-year-old Robert Ford. Read more here.

Abbott, Medtronic, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk started sharing diabetic data

In mid-September 2019, Abbott and Medtronic announced data sharing agreements for digital diabetes care solutions. For example, Abbott is partnering with Sanofi to integrate glucose assessment and insulin delivery tools. And Medtronic is partnering with Novo Nordisk to use insulin dosing data from smart pen syringes in its glucose monitoring devices. Read more here.

Purchase of minimally invasive mitral valve replacement technology developer Cephea

On January 16, 2019, Abbott Laboratories announced the acquisition of Cephea Valve Technologies, which develops mitral valve replacement technologies. Read more here.

2018

A fine of $25 million for bribing doctors

At the end of October 2018, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie agreed to pay a $25 million fine to settle charges of bribing doctors.

USA According to prosecutors in the state of Pennsylvania, the company gave kickbacks to doctors for prescribing TriCor for unregistered indications between 2006 and 2008. The company's allegations came after a lawsuit by former Abbott sales representative Amy Bergman filed in federal court in 2009. AbbVie was spun off into an independent company in 2013.

Abbott Laboratories and its AbbVie unit agreed to pay a $25 million fine to settle charges of bribing doctors

The lawsuit alleges that Abbott, through its sales representatives, encouraged doctors in the form of gift baskets and certificates for prescribing the lipid-lowering drug TriCor. The company also made cash payments to doctors for consultations and speeches at various events that mentioned TriCor, and encouraged the promotion of the drug in unapproved indications, including to reduce cardiovascular risk in patients with diabetes.

Neither company acknowledged that it had broken the law by its actions. AbbVie said in a statement that the settlement involved sales and marketing practices that occurred more than a decade ago, and the company decided it was in its best interest to pay the fine rather than engage in protracted litigation. Abbott Laboratories declined to comment.

Amy Bergman has filed a lawsuit in court as part of a federal wrongful claims law that qualifies the plaintiff to go to court on behalf of the U.S. Government to recover taxpayer money paid based on the claims of the fraudsters. Amy Bergman's share of the total fine will be $6.5 million.^[3]

Patent for a new method for fixing a catheter in the vessel cavity

On February 13, 2018, Abbott Laboratories, on behalf of Laveille Kao Voss, published a patent for a new method for fixing a catheter in a vessel cavity.

Various medical procedures require the medical device to be fixed in the lumen of a hollow organ or vessel, the device being designed so that it can be removed at the end of the procedure without causing excessive tissue damage. For example, the catheter should easily penetrate the vessel through the incision and be fixed at the desired location.

Various systems have been developed to fix the catheter in the lumen of the vessel; most often, an inflatable balloon is used, which presses against the walls of the vessel and secures the catheter. Unfortunately, in this case, the inflatable balloon blocks blood flow, which is undesirable with long-term procedures. In addition, this may prevent delivery of the drug through the catheter itself.

Illustration of Abbott's patent for the method of fixing a catheter in a vessel cavity

Consequently, there has been a need for a fixing system that will not interfere with normal fluid flow through the vessel lumen, but which can be easily removed at the end of the medical procedure.

A new patent offers a similar device. It consists of a shell with multiple side holes, a rotating element located inside the shell, and several curved blades extending from the rotating element. Rotation of this element in one direction causes the distal ends of the blades to pass through the side openings and fit tightly to the tissue of the vessel, fixing the shell with the rotating element; in reverse rotation, blade ends retract inward. In various embodiments of this device, multiple blades or one may be used; the blades may be attached to the rotating member or form a single piece.^[4]

2017

Abbott's Bio-Soluble Vascular Stents Are Leaving the Market

In September 2017, Abbott Laboratories announced the discontinuation of the soluble stent Absorb GT1. While the company attributes its decision to weak demand for the device, the real cause may be the health problems the product delivers to patients. Read more here.

Purchase of medical diagnostic equipment manufacturer Alere for $5.3 billion

In April 2017, Abbott Laboratories announced the purchase of medical diagnostic equipment manufacturer Alere at a price $500 million lower than previously announced. The discount is associated with a number of unpleasant events for Alere. Read more here.

Abbott self-absorbent stents turned out to be more dangerous than traditional metal

In March 2017, scientists at the Cleveland Clinic released the results of a study that showed a higher risk of using soluble vascular stents compared to traditional metal alloy solutions.

19% of patients who were injected with Absorb bioabsorbable stents (developed by Abbott Laboratories) faced problems expressed by the fact that the implantable devices ultimately turned out to be too small.

10.9% of patients experienced failure of the target lesion (combination of cardiac death, myocardial infarction in the target vessel area or clinically indicated target lesion revasularization) versus 7.9% in the case of the conventional metal Xience drug-eluting stent (the manufacturer is also Abbott). Such results were obtained two years after the operations of more than 2 thousand patients.

Biosoluble Vascular Stent Absorb

The risk of developing a heart attack after Absorb and Xience implantation was 7.3% and 4.9%, respectively. At the same time, the difference between the indicators of the two stents turned out to be small when patients who underwent stenting of small blood vessels were excluded from the sample, the agency notes, Reuters referring to the report of specialists.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already informed healthcare facilities of the increased incidence of severe adverse side reactions hearts when Absorb is implanted. The regulator intends to closely monitor new clinical studies on the effectiveness of bioresorbable stents.

All the advantages of using larger and harder-to-reach stents come after full absorption. We are waiting for long-term results, and if they are not better, the point in using the devices will disappear, "said Stephen Ellis, director of the Department of Interventional Cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic[5]

2016

Sale of the ophthalmic business for $4.3 billion

On September 16, 2016, the sale of Abbott Laboratories' ophthalmic business to Johnson & Johnson was announced for $4.325 billion. We are talking about the Abbott Medical Optics division, created on the basis of Advanced Medical Optics, which Abbott bought in 2009 for $2.8 billion.

The deal, scheduled to close by April 2017, will be paid for in-house by Johnson & Johnson and make the company the second-largest manufacturer of cataract surgical equipment. The annual volume of this market is estimated at $8 billion, growth - at 5%, and the volume of the entire ophthalmic market - at $68 billion, notes The Wall Street Journal.

Johnson & Johnson buys Abbott's ophthalmic business for $4.3 billion

According to Ashley McEvoy, head of the ophthalmic business at Johnson & Johnson, eye health protection is one of the largest, fastest growing and underserved markets in the healthcare industry.

Abbott Medical Optics manufactures cataract surgery and laser vision correction (LASIK) devices as well as contact lenses. In 2015, sales in the division amounted to $1.1 billion, down 6.9% due to a strong dollar. At the end of 2016, revenue is expected to grow.

Ashley McEvoy said he hopes Abbott Medical Optics and especially its cataract-proof lenses will naturally fit into the ophthalmology division and help diversify surgical equipment and boost sales in emerging markets.

We have always been interested in expanding the ophthalmic segment, "McEvoy said.

Johnson & Johnson expects that the deal with Abbott will begin to immediately turn a profit after the close.^[6]

Purchase of the Vietnamese pharmaceutical company Glomed

In August 2016, Abbott announced the acquisition of the leading Vietnamese pharmaceutical company Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Inc (Glomed), Viet Nam News reported. Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As a result of the deal, Abbott gained control of two manufacturing plants in Binzuong province, and also replenished its portfolio with a number of new drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases, gastrointestinal diseases, pain, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, drugs for women's health and over-the-counter products^[7].

The expansion of Abbott's business in Vietnam will allow the company to increase sales of medical nutrition, as well as medical equipment and diagnostics. In addition, the deal will allow Abbott to enter the top ten in the Vietnamese pharmaceutical market.

Purchase of St . Jude Medical for $30 billion

At the end of April 2016, the American pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories announced the purchase of St. Jude Medical for $25 billion. Abbott is also willing to take over and refinance St. Jude Medical's net debt of about $5.7 billion. The total amount of the transaction thus exceeds $30 billion. As a result of this merger, one of the world's largest manufacturers of equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system appears.

Under the terms of the agreement, Abbott will pay St. Jude shareholders for each share they own at $46.75 in cash and 0.8708 Abbott shares, a total of $85, which is 37% more than the exchange value of the securities as of April 27, 2016. Read more here.

2009: Purchase of Solvay Pharma Division for €4.8 billion

In September 2009, it became known that the American company Abbott Laboratories signed an agreement to acquire the pharmaceutical division of the Belgian chemical-pharmaceutical conglomerate Solvay SA. The transaction amount is about 4.8 billion euros ($7 billion) in cash. Abbott will make a one-time payment of 4.5 billion euros, and the remaining 300 million euros will pay in 2011-2013. upon achievement of certain goals. The deal is Abbott's largest since 2002.

The American company sees this deal as a springboard for expanding activities in emerging markets in Eastern Europe and Asia, and also gains access to new drugs for the treatment of hypertension and Parkinson's disease. In addition, Abbott gains full control of Tricor and Trilipix, for which Abbott and Solvay are marketing partners.

Solvay Pharma's range also includes hormone therapy drugs. The company also has a small vaccine division. This direction is very important against the background of the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus. In early September 2009, the Belgian company announced the start of production of small batches of vaccine for clinical trials. It is likely that Abbott will be able to invest in this business, but it is not yet clear how quickly Solvay enterprises will be able to start industrial production of the vaccine.

According to analysts, Abbott needs to reduce its dependence on the drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis Humira, whose sales in 2008 amounted to $4.5 billion, or 15% of the net profit of the American company.

Abbott managed to "replay" another contender for the acquisition of Solvay Pharma - the Swiss Nycomed, which was considered the most likely buyer^[8] the^[8]

1996: Launch of a program to monitor and detect new HIV and hepatitis B mutations

In 1996, the "Abbott International Program to Monitor and Identify New HIV and Hepatitis B Mutations" was created. By June 2016, the program had collected more than 25,000 HIV and hepatitis B samples from 16 countries. Particular attention is paid to foci in Africa, since it is there that the maximum variety of HIV options is observed. The program also involved 10 medical centers from Russia. Read more here.

1888: Foundation of the Company

Founded in 1888 by physician Wallas Abbott in Chicago under the name Alkaloidal Abbott Laboratories' Company.

Notes