The story
Foundation and early history
In 1888 at the age of 30, Wallace Abbott (1857–1921), an 1885 graduate of the University of Michigan, founded the Abbott Alkaloidal Company in Ravenswood, Chicago. At the time, he was a practising physician and owned a drug store. His innovation was formulating the active part of alkaloid medicinal plants—morphine, quinine, strychnine and codeine—as tiny "dosimetric granules", producing more consistent and effective dosages for patients than the liquid preparations previously used, which deteriorated over time. In 1922, the company moved from Ravenswood to North Chicago, Illinois.
International expansion
Abbott's first international affiliate was in London in 1907; the company later added an affiliate in Montreal, Canada. Abbott India Ltd was originally incorporated on August 22, 1944, as Boots Pure Drug Company (India) Ltd. The company name was changed to The Boots Company (India) Ltd on November 1, 1971, and to Boots Pharmaceuticals Ltd on January 1, 1991. On October 31, 1995, the name was changed to Knoll Pharmaceuticals Ltd and on July 1, 2002, to its present name Abbott India Ltd. Abbott started operations in Pakistan as a marketing affiliate in 1948; the company has steadily expanded to comprise a work force of over 1500 employees. Currently, two manufacturing facilities at Landhi and Korangi in Karachi continue to produce pharmaceutical products.
In 1962, Abbott entered into a joint venture with Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., of Osaka, Japan, to manufacture radio-pharmaceuticals. In 1964, it merged with Ross Laboratories, making Ross a wholly owned subsidiary of Abbott, and Richard Ross gained a seat on Abbott's board of directors until his retirement in 1983. The acquisition of Ross brought Similac under the Abbott umbrella. In the years following the acquisition, Pedialyte and Ensure were introduced as nutritional products by Ross Laboratories while under Abbott's leadership.
In 1965, Abbott's expansion in Europe continued with offices in Italy and France. According to Harvard professor Lester Grinspoon and Peter Hedblom, "In 1966 Abbott Laboratories sold the equivalent of two million doses of methamphetamine in powder form to a Long Island criminal dealer".
In 1985, Abbott partnered with Taisho Pharmaceutical for the international rights to clarithromycin, a second-generation macrolide antibiotic, and gained FDA approval for the drug under the brand name Biaxin in October 1991. Generic drug versions were approved in Europe in 2004 and in the US in mid-2005, and has been added to the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.
2001–2010
In 2001, the company acquired Knoll, the pharmaceutical division of BASF, for $6.9 billion. In 2002, it divested the Selsun Blue brand to Chattem. Later in 2002, it sold Clear Eyes and Murine brands to Prestige Brands. In 2004, Abbott completed the corporate spin-off of Hospira, its hospital products division. It was acquired by Pfizer in 2015. In 2004, it acquired TheraSense, a diabetes-care company, which it merged with its MediSense division to become Abbott Diabetes Care. In 2006, Abbott assisted Boston Scientific in its purchase of Guidant Corporation purchasing the vascular device division of Guidant.
In 2007, Abbott acquired Kos Pharmaceuticals for $3.7 billion in cash. At the time of acquisition Kos marketed Niaspan (extended release niacin), and Advicor (niacin/lovastatin). In 2007, the company was to sell two diagnostics divisions to General Electric, but the parties did not agree on the terms of the acquisition. On 8 September 2007, the company sold the UK manufacturing plant at Queenborough to UK manufacturer Aesica Pharmaceuticals. Abbott's Ross Products was renamed Abbott Nutrition in 2007.
In 2009, Abbott acquired Advanced Medical Optics of Santa Ana, California, selling it to Johnson & Johnson in 2017. In 2009, Abbott opened a satellite research and development facility at Research Park, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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In February 2010, Abbott acquired the pharmaceuticals unit of Solvay S.A. for US$6.2 billion (€4.5 billion), gaining many additional pharmaceutical products and an increased presence in emerging markets.
In 2010, the company acquired Hollywood, Florida-based laboratory information management system company STARLIMS for $123 million, $14 per share. That year Abbott said it would buy Piramal Group of India's large generic drugs unit for $3.72 billion.
2013–present
Effective January 1, 2013, the company completed the corporate spin-off of AbbVie. Abbott Nutrition, whose products include Similac, Pedialyte, Glucerna, and Ensure, also retained the Abbott name. In preparation for the reorganization, Abbott cut 550 staff members.
In May 2014, it was announced that Abbott would acquire the holding company Kalo Pharma Internacional S.L. for $2.9 billion in order to secure the 73% it held of Chilean pharmaceutical company, CFR Pharmaceuticals, which the company said would more than double its branded generic drug portfolio. In December 2014, the company acquired Russian pharmaceutical manufacturer Veropharm (Voronezh) in a deal worth $410 million, which included three manufacturing facilities. Abbott, which already employed 1,400 people in Russia, said it planned to set up a manufacturing presence in the country when the deal closed.
In September 2015, the company acquired Tendyne Holdings, a private medical device company focused on developing minimally invasive mitral valve replacement therapies, for $250 million.
In September 2017, the FDA approved Abbott's FreeStyle Libre glucose monitoring system, which reads glucose levels through a self-applied sensor without finger pricks. In October 2017, the company acquired Alere for $5.8 billion. In January 2017, Abbott announced it would acquire St. Jude Medical for $25 billion in stock. With the acquisition of Alere, the company also obtained the subsidiary Arriva Medical, which at one point was the largest mail-order diabetic supplier. Arriva Medical closed facilities in December 2017.
As of August 2018, the company was among the top five companies for branded generic drugs in Russia. In November 2018, Abbott received United States FDA clearance for FreeStyle LibreLink, a glucose reader smartphone app.
In January 2019, the company acquired Cephea Valve Technologies, which is developing a less-invasive replacement heart valve for people with mitral valve disease.
In January 2020, the Tendyne Mitral Valve became the world's first commercially available solution for Mitral Valve Replacement Technology; with CE Mark for the device, it is possible to implant it in Europe outside of a clinical setting.
In March 2020, Abbott received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the US FDA for a SARS-CoV-2 test during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tester is small (comparable to a small toaster), and produces results within 13 minutes. Detroit received these tests on April 1, 2020. Also in March, the firm received EUA for a molecular COVID-19 test that runs on its m2000 RealTime lab-based platform. In April 2020, itt received EUA from the FDA for its third COVID-19 test, an antibody test that helps detect the IgG antibody to SARS-CoV-2 using the company's ARCHITECT laboratory instruments. In May 2020, it received EUA from the FDA for another lab-based COVID-19 antibody test that helps detect the IgG antibody to SARS-CoV-2 using the company's Alinity i system. Also in May, it received EUA from the FDA for a molecular COVID-19 test for use on the company's Alinity molecular laboratory instrument.
In August 2020, Abbott received EUA from the FDA for its credit-card-sized $5, 15-minute, portable COVID-19 antigen test, BinaxNOW, compatible with the NAVICA mobile app. In October 2020, Abbott received EUA from the FDA for its lab-based COVID-19 IgM antibody blood test. In December 2020, its rapid (20') antigen BinaxNOW COVID-19 test received EUA from the FDA for home use. Forbes reported in January 2021 that the firm had delivered more than 400 million COVID-19 tests, 300 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.
In September 2021, Abbott acquired Walk Vascular, LLC. In January 2022, Abbott introduced Lingo, a line of consumer biowearable sensors that collects a range of biological readings to optimize exercise and nutrition regimens. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Abbott Laboratories continued its business operations in Russia while suspending non-essential activities such as new investments and advertising. Research from Yale School of Management evaluating corporate responses to the invasion placed Abbott in the "Buying Time" category with a "Grade D" rating, indicating that it postponed future investments and marketing while continuing substantive business in Russia. In May 2022, Abbott received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for FreeStyle Libre 3, the latest version of its continuous glucose monitor. In August 2022, Abbott received FDA approval for Proclaim Plus, a multi-use spinal cord stimulation system designed to target chronic pain. The Proclaim Plus system is capable of treating six independent pain sites and has a recharge-free battery life of up to 10 years. In October 2022, Abbott received EUA from the FDA for its real-time PCR test Alinity m MPXV; this marks the first FDA emergency authorization for commercial monkeypox testing.
In April 2023, the company acquired Cardiovascular Systems, developer of an atherectomy system, which is used in treating peripheral and coronary artery disease, for $851 million. On July 5, 2023, Abbott received approval from the FDA for its leadless pacemaker system Aveir DR. In September 2023, the company acquired Bigfoot Biomedical, a developer of smart insulin management systems for people with diabetes.
In November 2025, Abbott announced an agreement to acquire Exact Sciences Corp. in a deal worth roughly $21 billion.
From Wikipedia’s article on Abbott Laboratories, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7