Pipeline - Nutritional Products, Diagnostics, Medical Devices and Established Pharmaceuticals

Vascular Disease

Abbott continues to develop new ways to better treat coronary artery disease. In 2011, we launched our next-generation drug-eluting stent, Xience PRIME, and Xience nano for small vessels in the United States and introduced Absorb, the world’s first drug-eluting bioresorbable vascular scaffold, in Europe. Currently under investigation in a number of countries around the world, including the United States, Japan, India and Brazil, Absorb is designed to dissolve over time after the vessel is treated. Also in development is Xience Xpedition, our next-generation DES that offers a new catheter for enhanced deliverability, as well as a broader stent-size matrix.

Structural Heart

Our MitraClip device is designed to treat significant mitral regurgitation, the most common form of heart-valve disease. Available in a number of international markets, MitraClip is an investigational device under FDA review in the United States.

Peripheral Artery Disease

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) occurs when plaque builds up in the arteries that carry blood to the head, organs, arms and legs. In the last two years, Abbott has launched seven new products in the United States and Europe to treat peripheral artery diseases. We also have a number of ongoing PAD research programs, including trials evaluating our bioresorbable vascular scaffold for PAD.

Diagnostics

Abbott is investing to support the continued introduction of new laboratory, point-of-care and molecular diagnostics products designed to speed the process of identifying and treating disease, as well as identify which patients are more likely to benefit most from a particular therapy. In core laboratory diagnostics, Abbott is developing next-generation analyzers and comprehensive automation and informatics solutions to better meet the needs of our customers. Abbott expects to launch more than 15 new molecular diagnostics products over the next few years, including several novel oncology and infectious disease assays.

Vision Care

We have a number of new products in our vision care pipeline that we expect to launch over the next five years. We are developing new diagnostic instruments and treatments to improve vision outcomes, including new applications in our market-leading LASIK platform and continued expansion of our Tecnis line of intraocular lens (IOL) products.

Diabetes Care

Diabetes occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. In 2011, in Europe, Abbott introduced FreeStyle InsuLinx, a unique blood glucose monitor that includes an insulin calculator. This technology is the foundation for our new diabetes product pipeline, which is dedicated to further improving the testing experience for patients.

Nutrition

Abbott is developing leading-edge, science-based nutritional products and improving formulations of our trusted brands to better serve the nutritional needs of consumers and patients. Specifically, Abbott is focused on improving six areas through nutrition: immunity, cognition, lean body mass, inflammation, metabolism and tolerance. We expect to launch a number of new products and formulations to consumers in the coming years and are currently conducting 30 well-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate proven clinical outcomes with our nutrition innovation. One example of how Abbott is advancing nutrition is the Glucerna Hunger Smart shake, formulated for people with diabetes who are working to manage their hunger and their blood glucose levels.