Science

Humira is the foundation of Abbott’s immunology research. Based on our clinical success with Humira, we are advancing a next-generation biologic, ABT-874, for psoriasis and Crohn’s disease. ABT-874 is designed to target and neutralize IL-12 and IL-23, important elements of the body’s immune system, which, when present in excess, can cause disease.

Beyond ABT-874, we have both biologic and small-molecule medicines in early-stage development to address a wide range of autoimmune disorders.

Combination biologics open new treatment possibilities
While small molecules can be combined into one therapy, combining biologics that target multiple disease pathways has been a significant scientific challenge. Abbott scientists were the first to discover a new technology called DVD-Ig (dual-variable domain immunoglobulin). This technology could lead to combination biologics for complex conditions, such as cancer or rheumatoid arthritis, where multiple pathways are involved in the disease. The ultimate goal of DVD-Ig technology is to improve the efficacy of current treatments.

Abbott’s Xience V drug-eluting stent set a new standard in DES technology in the United States with its July 2008 launch. It quickly became the U.S. market leader, as physicians recognized its world-class deliverability, safety and efficacy.

We are building on the success of Xience V with a next-generation DES in development. It capitalizes on the proven clinical benefits of Xience V and is designed to improve access to more complex anatomy and longer lesions.

Abbott’s fully bioabsorbable stent: innovation in the treatment of vascular disease
Abbott’s fully bioabsorbable DES in development does the job of a metallic
DES — it improves blood flow to the heart. But unlike a metallic DES, it is made from polylactic acid and is absorbed into the vessel wall over time. Abbott has the most advanced bioabsorbable DES clinical program in the industry, with an opportunity to reach the market years ahead of competitors.

Early clinical data demonstrate promising 2-year results for our bioabsorbable drug-eluting stent. The vessel was able to expand and contract like a vessel that had never been stented, indicating the stent was being absorbed into the walls of the treated artery.

Abbott’s fully bioabsorbable drug-eluting stent props open a clogged artery, restoring blood flow. It’s gradually absorbed into the vessel wall — much like sutures are absorbed after healing a wound — with the potential to return the vessel to full motion.

Slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease gradually destroys a person’s memory and ability to learn, communicate and perform daily activities. It’s the most common form of dementia. While current therapies may help patients maintain cognitive abilities or control symptoms, these treatments do not change the progression of the underlying disease. Our research spans multiple mechanisms, and we’re leading the industry in our early-stage research on calpain inhibition. Calpain is a protein that is produced excessively in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and is linked to both the symptoms and underlying causes of the disease.

Identifying new scientific approaches to pain
Chronic pain affects approximately 50 million people in the United States and is the most common cause of long-term disability. New therapies that combine efficacy with improved safety and tolerability are needed. Abbott is evaluating a number of approaches in pain research. The TRPV1, or vanilloid receptor, is activated by a number of painful stimuli, including capsaicin, the active component of chili peppers. Preclinical data suggest that by blocking TRPV1 receptors, pain may be significantly reduced without all of the side effects associated with current pain therapies.

In advanced Alzheimer’s disease, cell loss reduces the size of the brain, causing healthy brain tissue to shrink. Abbott’s early-stage research is evaluating treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

“Flipping a switch” in cancer cells
In order to survive, cancer cells disable their own self-destruct mechanism to multiply and spread. Our Bcl-2 family protein antagonist is the first in a new class of drugs that attack cancer cells in a fundamentally new way compared to conventional chemotherapy. It works by seeking to trigger a “switch” in cancer cells, causing them to die. It’s being studied in a variety of cancer types.

Cutting off the blood supply to tumors
Cancer cells multiply rapidly. Our multitargeted kinase inhibitor seeks to cut off the blood supply to a tumor to stop the progression of cancer. It’s in clinical trials for solid tumors and select blood-related malignancies, such as leukemia.

Abbott is working to advance a number of other oncology compounds, including a PARP (Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase) inhibitor to prevent DNA repair in cancer cells, which may enhance the effectiveness of current cancer therapies.

Steve Elmore, Ph.D. (center), and members of the Abbott oncology research team evaluate research results. “Seeing the first clinical responses to our Bcl-2 inhibitor brought a surprising new clarity to what we do. It may offer new hope to cancer patients who don’t respond to conventional chemotherapy,” said Elmore.

Approximately 3 to 4 million people are newly infected each year with HCV. Current treatments for the virus are often very poorly tolerated, require up to a year of use and result in a cure in fewer than half of patients infected with the most common type of HCV. New treatments with improved tolerability and HCV cure rates are urgently needed.

Building on our strong foundation in HIV treatment, where Abbott scientists developed the protease inhibitor Kaletra, we’re pursuing a multipronged HCV research strategy. We’re conducting research in multiple therapeutic classes that block HCV viral replication or prevent attachment of the virus to other cells. Our compounds in development have the potential to shorten treatment duration, improve tolerability and increase cure rates. With several compounds advancing into human trials, we are also well positioned to explore combinations of these new therapies, which may provide additional benefit to patients with HCV infection.

Abbott infectious disease scientists are researching new medicines that improve HCV cure rates and improve tolerability over current therapies.

Personalizing medicine
Abbott scientists are advancing the detection and treatment of cancer, HIV and other serious diseases. We continue to develop more sensitive molecular testing that can predict which patients are likely to benefit most from a particular therapy. We’re working to develop a test to identify patients who could benefit from certain tyrosine kinase inhibitors, a class of drugs used to treat select patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Disease surveillance
Abbott is recognized as a pioneer in HIV research, introducing the world’s first diagnostic test for AIDS in 1985. Since then, we’ve focused on staying ahead of the evolving HIV virus as mutations and new strains appear, developing a molecular test capable of identifying genetic variations of the disease. This is just one example of how Abbott scientists are tracking disease mutation around the world. Our global surveillance team is working to monitor disease trends to develop better diagnostic tests and better protect the world’s blood supply.

A new testing frontier
To enhance the process of identifying microorganisms, Abbott recently acquired Ibis Biosciences and the T5000 Biosensor System. The T5000 has the sensitivity to identify a single difference in human DNA and has numerous applications, including clinical research, disease surveillance and forensics — where it is currently being used by the FBI. Abbott is investing in new research capabilities such as Ibis to expand our presence in molecular diagnostics.