A Tradition of Innovation
More than 120 years ago, 30-year-old Dr. Wallace C. Abbott, a practicing
physician and pharmacy proprietor, founded the company that bears his name.
Using the active part of a medicinal plant, known as the "alkaloid," he
formed tiny pills, called "dosimetric granules," which provided more
accurate and effective dosing for his patients than other treatments available
at the time. The demand for these accurate granules soon far exceeded the needs
of his own practice and, from these modest origins, was born Abbott, one of the
world's most broad-based health care companies and a global leader in the
discovery, development and manufacture of products that span the continuum of
care.
1888-1900 –
1900s – 1910s – 1920s – 1930s – 1940s
1950s – 1960s – 1970s – 1980s – 1990s – 2000s
1888-1900
1888: Seeking better and more accurate medications for his patients,
Wallace C. Abbott, M.D., begins producing dosimetric granules in the apartment
above his People's Drug Store on Chicago's North Side. First-year sales are
$2,000.
1894: Dr. Abbott acquires, and becomes editor of, the medical journal
The Alkaloidal Clinic.
1900s
1900: The business is officially incorporated in Illinois as the
Abbott Alkaloidal Company.
1906: The company's first sales force – composed of seven "Abbott
missionaries" – is formed.
1910s
1910: There are more than 700 products in the Abbott catalogue. The
company expands with branches in New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Toronto,
a European agency in London, and business in India.
1915: The Abbott Alkaloidal Company's name is changed to Abbott
Laboratories to reflect the company's growing research orientation and move to
synthetic compounds.
1916: Abbott's antiseptic agent Chlorazene is used to clean
wounds on the battlefields of World War I.
1920s
1920: Dr. Abbott breaks ground for a new manufacturing facility in
North Chicago, Illinois. This location will serve as the company's headquarters
for more than 40 years.
1921: Dr. Abbott dies in July, and Dr. Alfred Stephen Burdick is
named president of the company.
1923: The development of Butyn, a butyl alcohol-based
anesthetic, marks the beginning of Abbott's long, productive and groundbreaking
involvement in anesthesia.
1929: Abbott stock is listed on the Chicago Stock Exchange. The
offering is 20,000 shares for $32 each.
1930s
1930: The anesthetic Nembutal is introduced and goes on to
become one of the company's best-known and longest-lived products.
1931: Abbott's first international affiliate is established in
Montreal, Canada.
1932: Abbott enters the field of nutrition with Haliver
Oil and Viosterol, making it a leader in the new field of
vitamins and beginning its leadership in the nutrition business.
1936: The anesthetic agent Pentothal is introduced. Fifty
years later its developers, Abbott scientists Drs. Ernest Volwiler and Donalee
Tabern, are named to the U.S. Inventors Hall of Fame for their discovery of the
compound. The company is among the pioneers of the I.V. business, supplying
hospitals with bulk intravenous solutions.
1938: Abbott celebrates its 50th anniversary with the
dedication of a new, state-of-the-art research center in North Chicago.
1940s
1941: Abbott is one of the five pioneers enlisted by the U.S.
government to develop large-scale production of the new anti-infective
penicillin.
1945: Tridione, the first of many Abbott medications for the
treatment of epilepsy, is introduced.
1946: Abbott is the first pharmaceutical company to have a special
laboratory for radiopharmaceuticals – a move that leads to the creation of what
will become the world's leading immunodiagnostics business.
1950s
1952: Erythrocin, a new antibiotic with good activity against
gram-positive bacteria, is introduced and anchors the company's pharmaceutical
business for many years to come.
1953: Abbott's radiopharmaceutical business introduces
Radiocaps, capsules containing an accurately controlled, invisible and
un-weighable film of radioiodine that simplifies the diagnosis and treatment of
thyroid disorders.
1959: A new corporate brand is introduced, which features a stylized
"a" symbol that, in updated form, is still in use today.
1960s
1962: Abbott enters the Japanese market through a joint venture with
Dainippon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., to manufacture radiopharmaceuticals.
1963: The Triosorb diagnostic test kit no longer requires a
patient to swallow a radioactive substance; rather, a blood sample is
inoculated with a radioactive form of thyroid hormone.
1964: Abbott acquires M&R Dietetic Laboratories of Columbus,
Ohio, best known as makers of Similac, one of the first milk-based
infant formulas.
1965: The company's global growth warrants a new headquarters. Major
operations are moved to Abbott Park, a 420-acre site southwest of its North
Chicago headquarters.
1970s
1972: The launch of Ausria, a radioimmunoassay test to detect
serum hepatitis, marks the beginning of Abbott's world-leading
immunodiagnostics business.
1973: The global Abbott Diagnostics Division is formed to bring
together the company's diagnostic products and services. Ensure,
Abbott's first adult medical nutritional, is introduced.
1977: TAP Pharmaceuticals, one of the most successful joint-venture
companies ever, is formed between Abbott and Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd.,
of Japan.
1980s
1981: The TDx therapeutic drug monitoring system is
introduced.
1983: Depakote, a new treatment for epilepsy, is approved in
the United States. It will later become the leading treatment for mania in
bipolar disorder.
1985: Abbott wins U.S. approval to market the world's first
diagnostic test for AIDS.
1987: Hytrin, a new cardiovascular drug for the treatment of
hypertension, receives U.S. FDA approval. It will go on to become the leading
treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
1988: Abbott celebrates its centennial. The IMx immunoassay
system is introduced and goes on to become one of the best-selling products in
the company's history.
1990s
1990: Biaxin, an important new macrolide antibiotic, is
introduced and soon becomes the company's most successful product to date.
1991: The company enters the hematology testing market with the
acquisition of Sequoia-Turner Corp.
1993: AxSYM, a new labor-saving diagnostic system, is
launched.
1994: Sevoflurane, the first truly universal anesthetic, is
introduced.
1995: TAP receives approval for PREVACID, a proton pump
inhibitor used in treating ulcers, which goes on to become a top-five drug.
ABBOTT PRISM, the first fully-automated high-volume blood analyzer, is
introduced.
1996: Norvir, one of the first protease inhibitor drugs for
the treatment of HIV/AIDS, is launched. The acquisition of MediSense, Inc.
marks the company's entrance into glucose monitoring for people with
diabetes.
1998: Glucerna shakes and snack bars, nutritional products
specifically formulated for people with diabetes, are launched.
1999: ARCHITECT, a next-generation diagnostic system, is
launched. Perclose, Inc., a leading vascular closure devices company, is
acquired, marking the company's entry into vascular care.
2000s
2000: Kaletra, a next-generation treatment for HIV, is
approved. It would become the world's leading protease inhibitor for the
treatment of HIV/AIDS.
2001: Abbott acquires the pharmaceutical business of BASF, including
the global operations of Knoll Pharmaceuticals, expanding the company's global
scope and biotech capabilities. Vysis, Inc., a leading genomic disease
management company, is acquired to strengthen Abbott's position in the
molecular diagnostics market. The Vysis UroVysion molecular test to
monitor for recurrent bladder cancer is approved.
2002: FDA approval is received for HUMIRA, for rheumatoid
arthritis – the first of six disease indications it will receive en route to
becoming Abbott's most successful product ever. The cardiovascular stent
business of Biocompatibles International plc. is acquired.
2003: Abbott acquires JOMED's coronary and peripheral intervention
business lines, and enters the healthy-living nutrition category with
ZonePerfect Nutritional Co.
2004: Abbott Diabetes Care is created with the acquisition of
TheraSense Inc., a leading blood glucose monitoring business. The diagnostics
portfolio is expanded with the addition of i-STAT Corp., a maker of
point-of-care diagnostic technologies. Abbott also acquires EAS Inc., a leader
in performance nutrition products. The company's hospital products business
becomes Hospira, an independent, publicly traded company and one of the largest
global specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery companies serving the
hospital market.
2006: Abbott acquires the vascular business of Guidant Inc., a leader
in coronary and vascular products, and Kos Pharmaceuticals, a specialty
pharmaceutical company with a significant lipid management portfolio. The drug
eluting stent, XIENCE V, is launched outside the United States.
2009: Abbott strengthens its global competitive position with six
significant strategic acquisitions: Ibis Biosciences, a provider of
leading-edge technology in diagnostic testing and surveillance; Advanced
Medical Optics, an established global leader in vision care; Wockhardt Limited,
India’s leading local manufacturer of nutritional products; Visiogen, Inc., a
leader in next-generation cataract technology; Evalve, Inc., the global leader
in the development of devices for minimally invasive repair of cardiac mitral
valves; and Solvay Pharmaceuticals, the global pharmaceutical business of the
Solvay Group.