Press Release
Abbott Completes Acquisition of Kos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Abbott Park, Illinois, December 15, 2006 — Abbott announced today that it has acquired 100 percent of the outstanding shares of Kos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. As previously announced, at the conclusion of its successful tender offer on December 12, 2006, Abbott owned approximately 91.4 percent of Kos’ shares (including shares acquired in a concurrent transaction). As the final step in the acquisition process, Kos has been acquired as a wholly owned subsidiary of Abbott.
The acquisition of Kos broadens Abbott’s portfolio of products for lipid management – the world’s largest pharmaceutical segment – and brings a rich pipeline of near- and mid-term opportunities in lipid management, diabetes care and asthma. Kos is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and markets proprietary medications for the treatment of chronic cardiovascular, metabolic and respiratory diseases.
“We can now serve patients and doctors better, because we can offer them a broad range of therapies for cholesterol and lipid management,” said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. “We very much admire the business that Kos built and grew over the past several years. It’s an excellent strategic fit for Abbott, and we’re enthusiastic about the commercial and R&D opportunities our combined organization now offers.”
About Abbott
Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs 65,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.
A Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements. Abbott cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott’s operations are discussed in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” and Exhibit 99.1 to our Annual Report on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2005, and in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” to our Quarterly Report on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2006, and are incorporated by reference. Abbott undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as the result of subsequent events or developments, other than as required by law.
| Media: Jonathon Hamilton |
(847) 935-8646 |
| Financial: Larry Peepo |
(847) 935-6722 |
