Global Citizenship

Our Priorities > Innovating for the Future Developing Promising Products

Abbott’s XIENCE V stent is just one example of the company’s focus on advancing the treatment of vascular disease.

Across our broad-based businesses, Abbott is a leader in researching, developing and bringing to market new products to address emerging patient and consumer needs. Highlights from breakthrough research across our pipeline include:

Established Pharmaceuticals

Abbott offers a growing portfolio of more than 500 high-quality, affordable, branded generic medicines that have been successfully treating patients with a wide range of health conditions around the world for many years.
Abbott’s pharmaceutical business is one of the largest such businesses in emerging markets, where pharmaceutical sales are expected to grow at three times the rate of developed countries in the years ahead.
Abbott delivers localized innovation and value for patients in the communities it serves. We understand and embrace that no country or region is the same — our structure, focus and presence is local. This allows us to tailor our science to local conditions — which improves convenience, quality and results for patients, and provides a competitive advantage for our business. For example, in India, where clean water is not always guaranteed, we invented a dual-chamber bottle to mix dry syrups, such as antibiotics. One chamber contains the medicine, the other contains the correct dose of clean water. This minimizes product contamination risks and maximizes patient convenience.

Vascular Devices

Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold (BVS) – Abbott launched Absorb, the world's first bioresorbable vascular scaffold, internationally and the product is in clinical trials in the United States. Absorb works by opening a clogged vessel, thereby restoring blood flow to the heart, similar to a metallic stent, but then dissolves into the body, leaving behind a treated vessel that may resume more natural function and movement because it is free of a permanent metallic stent. Absorb is now available in Europe, the Middle East, parts of Asia Pacific, and parts of Latin America. Absorb is not approved or available for sale in the United States.
MitraClip – MitraClip is a minimally invasive device for the treatment of select patients with mitral regurgitation (MR), the most common valve disease in the world. Significant MR affects more than 8 million people in the United States and Europe and is four times more prevalent than aortic stenosis. The MitraClip system is on the market in Europe and a number of countries internationally. In the United States it is an investigational device.
Drug Eluting Stents (DES) – The next generation XIENCE Xpedition DES features a brand new stent delivery system designed to optimize acute performance, particularly in challenging coronary anatomies. XIENCE Xpedition is supported by robust clinical evidence from the XIENCE family of stents, including data from more than 45,000 patients across more than 100 studies with long-term outcomes out to five years. XIENCE Xpedition is now available in Europe and other countries in Asia and the Middle East. XIENCE Xpedition is an investigational device in the United States.
Core coronary products – With the number one market position in coronary guidewires and bare metal stents worldwide, Abbott is continuing to strengthen its core coronary offering. Abbott recently launched the HI-TORQUE BMW ELITE guidewire and TREK balloon dilation catheter and continues to innovate with next generation guidewires, balloon dilation catheters and bare metal stents all in development with launches on the horizon in the coming years.
Endovascular products – Abbott’s endovascular business is focused on this growth segment, led by recent launches of key products, including the Armada peripheral balloon line, the expanded indication for the RX ACCULINK Carotid Stent System and R&D investments in peripheral artery disease and vessel closure. In 2012, Abbott launched the Absolute Pro Vascular Self-Expanding Stent System and Omnilink Elite balloon-expandable stent system for the treatment of iliac artery disease, a form of peripheral artery disease that affects the lower extremities.

Molecular Diagnostics

In 2011, Abbott received U.S. FDA approval and CE mark for an ALK gene rearrangement test for non-small-cell lung cancer, to be used in combination with Pfizer’s XALKORI (crizotinib), an oral first-in-class anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor. Abbott also recently received FDA clearance for the Vysis EGR1 FISH Probe Kit to aid in determining the prognosis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Additionally, Abbott received FDA approval for the Abbott RealTimePCR HCV assay for measuring viral load, or the amount of hepatitis C virus in a patient’s blood, as well as CE Mark for a new test to detect cytomegalovirus (CMV), a virus that can lead to complications in transplant patients and people who are immunocompromised.
Abbott expects to launch more than 15 new molecular diagnostic products over the next few years, including several novel oncology and infectious disease assays.

Core Laboratory Diagnostics

Abbott has launched a number of key assays on our ARCHITECT immunochemistry platform, which will significantly broaden its industry-leading menu. These tests include assays to assess ovarian cancer and vitamin deficiencies, as well as the first HIV combination assay approved for use in the United States.
Abbott holds the #1 market share position in blood screening worldwide.

Diabetes Care

In 2012, our latest blood glucose monitoring system, FreeStyle InsuLinx, won the prestigious international Plus X Award for Best Product of the Year in the Health category, along with awards for innovation and ease of use. With a judging panel of over 130 respected industry experts and trade journalists from 32 countries, the Plus X Award recognizes products that are innovative, viable for the future and possess outstanding characteristics in one or more categories including innovation, high quality, design, ease of use, functionality, ergonomics and ecology. FreeStyle InsuLinx is the first blood glucose monitor from Abbott Diabetes Care featuring a touch-screen interface, automated logbook, personalization preferences and USB connectivity for plug-and-play reports. All of these features, along with a built-in mealtime insulin calculator on versions of FreeStyle InsuLinx sold in some EU countries, are designed to give patients an easier and more convenient diabetes management experience.

Vision Care

Abbott expects numerous new products and technology advancements over the next five years. In our market-leading LASIK business, Abbott is expanding its proprietary laser platform into new vision correction applications, including cataract surgery. Abbott also continues to expand our portfolio of premium and standard intraocular lenses (IOL).
Abbott holds the #1 market share position in LASIK and the #2 position in cataract surgery.

Nutritionals

Abbott is focused on supporting six areas through nutrition: immunity, cognition, lean body mass, inflammation, metabolism and tolerance. In 2011, Abbott introduced several new products, including Glucerna Hunger Smart shakes and bars in the U.S., which are specially designed for people with diabetes to use as a meal replacement or snack as a part of a weight management plan.
In Singapore, we launched Grow and Grow School – the first-of-its-kind, made-in-Singapore growing-up milk formulations with ImmuniGrow nutrients to support the development of strong bones and teeth and to provide nutritional reserves for healthier development of children aged 3-6 and 6-12 years. Both formulations have been customized to support the growth and health needs of children in Singapore – with 25 percent less sugar and 25 percent less saturated fats than regular growing-up milks in the market.
We expect to launch a number of new products and formulations to consumers in 2012 and are currently conducting 30 well-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate proven clinical outcomes with our nutrition innovation.

Note: All data in the Global Citizenship section reflects activities prior to the separation of Abbott and AbbVie on January 1, 2013.