Abbott Laboratories

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Abbott Laboratories

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN US0028241000
founding 1888
Seat Abbott Park, North Chicago , Illinois , United States
United StatesUnited States 
management Miles D. White (Chairman and CEO )
Robert Ford ( COO )
Number of employees 107,000 (2019)
sales $ 31.9 billion (2019)
Branch Biotechnology , pharmacy
Website www.abbott.com

Abbott Laboratories (ABT), (founding Name: Abbott alkaloid Company ) is a global, as a default value of existing and S & P 100 and the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 listed pharmaceutical company with around 73,000 employees in 150 countries. The company Abbott was in 1888 by Wallace C. Abbott founded (1857 to 1921) and headquartered in Abbott Park, a northern suburb of Chicago , Illinois .

Abbott Laboratories' core business is the research, development and manufacture of various medicinal products for human and veterinary medicine , as well as in the areas of laboratory diagnostics and clinical nutrition.

Abbott was split into two independent companies, Abbott and AbbVie , on January 1, 2013 . Abbott continues to operate in areas such as diagnostics, medical technology, nutrition, and established brand name medicines. AbbVie is a newly formed research- based bio-pharmaceutical company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ABBV" with the portfolio of specialty drugs marketed by Abbott Laboratories . AbbVie's activities include immunology , oncology, and virology .

History of the company

The founding phase 1888–1915

In 1888, the 30-year-old practicing doctor and pharmacy owner Wallace Calvin Abbott developed tiny tablet pellets from the active alkaloids of a medicinal plant, which he called " dosimetric granules " . These granules enabled a more precise and thus more effective dosage of the respective active ingredient than other preparations that were available at the time. The emerging high demand for this new dosage form enabled the Abbott Alkaloid Company to be officially registered in Chicago, Illinois. As early as 1910, the first European branch was founded in London , as well as branches in New York , San Francisco , Seattle and Toronto .

First growth and scientific progress 1915–1950

After the first few years, in which the company's success was based primarily on alkaloids drugs , the focus of research activities shifted from alkaloids to synthetically or chemically manufactured drugs , parallel to the rapid advances in the field of chemical research . To reflect this expansion of corporate interests, the company was renamed Abbott Laboratories in 1915. In 1916, Abbott launched the antiseptic chloracene, one of the first synthetically manufactured drugs, which was widely used to clean and disinfect wounds on the battlefields of World War I. The company's headquarters in Chicago are built in 1920 and further active ingredients and preparations will be continuously researched, developed and brought onto the market over the next few years .

After the discovery of penicillin in Great Britain in 1928, Abbott was one of the first five companies able to manufacture it on an industrial scale.

During the Second World War , the Halazone , a tablet for water treatment developed in 1942, became very important for the drinking water supply of American troops on the various fronts.

Further expansion and specialization 1950–2009

In the second half of the 20th century Abbott Laboratories expanded its activities, mainly through the acquisition of other companies, but also through mergers , into various industries , some of which, such as the manufacture of golf equipment , were later abandoned. Abbott Japan developed from the 1962 joint venture with Dianippon Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., a Japanese manufacturer of radiopharmaceuticals , which is still the largest group location outside the USA. In 1965, Deutsche Abbott GmbH was founded, a joint venture between CH Boehringer Sohn , Ingelheim and Abbott Laboratories, the first branch in Germany .

With the rise in HIV infections in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a new field in medical research emerged. In 1985 Abbott introduced the first diagnostic HIV test , in the form of a blood screening method. In 1996 the preparation Norvir was introduced, which is later further developed by combining the original active ingredient ritonavir with lopinavir to form Kaletra , which was approved in 2000.

In 2001 the pharmaceutical division of BASF was taken over , which also includes the global activities of Knoll AG . As a result, the product range was expanded to include the therapeutic areas of cancer , cardiovascular diseases and diseases of the CNS . With Humira , a drug came onto the European market in 2003 that uses monoclonal antibodies to treat rheumatoid arthritis , psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis .

The most recent company takeovers took place in 2009. Abbott Laboratories took over the pharmaceuticals division of its competitor Solvay , making it one of the world's leading manufacturers of medical systems. The biotechnology company Kos Pharmaceuticals was also acquired.

In January 2017, Abbott Laboratories acquired St. Jude Medical for $ 25 billion.

The history of Abbott GmbH & Co. KG in Germany

After Deutsche Abbott GmbH was founded in 1965, the new group's activities initially focused on pharmaceuticals and clinical products. In 1968, Abbott Diagnostics Products GmbH, based in Eschborn, and later in Langen, is founded to market diagnostics and related services . The two companies, which are legally independent of each other, move into the newly constructed company building in Wiesbaden - Delkenheim in 1981 . Following this, the two companies became legally one company with the foundation of Abbott GmbH in 1988, which included the pharmaceuticals, clinical products and diagnostics divisions. In 1996 Abbott Diagnostics GmbH was founded, the task of which was to bundle the logistical activities of Abbott GmbH. In 2000, a sales line from Kanoldt Arzneimittel GmbH was acquired, adding the Urology division to Abbott's product portfolio . In November 2001, after the takeover of the pharmaceuticals division of BASF and thus Knoll AG in March of that year, Abbott GmbH, Wiesbaden, Knoll GmbH and Knoll Deutschland GmbH, Ludwigshafen, become Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, with headquarters in Wiesbaden summarized. Further production facilities exist in Hanover , Neustadt am Rübenberge , Wetzlar , Ettlingen , Ludwigshafen am Rhein and Witten .

With the division of the company, the German business was divided into Abbott GmbH & Co. KG and AbbVie AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG. That left about 2,600 employees at Abbott. AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG and its employees moved into a new building on Mainzer Strasse in downtown Wiesbaden at the beginning of 2014 .

Locations

The most important branches include the research centers in Chicago, Parsippany, Worcester and Ludwigshafen, as well as the production facilities in Puerto Rico , Ireland and Great Britain . The two plants in Germany are located in Wiesbaden-Delkenheim and Ludwigshafen. In addition, there has been an administrative location in Wetzlar since March 2003. In February 2010, the acquisition of the Belgian Solvay Pharmaceuticals Group was completed, adding the German locations in Hanover and Neustadt am Rübenberge.

Wiesbaden

Around 1700 people are employed in Wiesbaden, the branch is the seat of the management for all commercial activities in Germany. The world's second largest production and development facility for diagnostics is located here, and these are also supplied to 140 countries from Wiesbaden. Clinical research activities in the areas of pharmaceuticals and medical nutrition are also carried out at this location.

Ludwigshafen am Rhein

With around 2,000 employees, it was initially one of the most important Abbott Laboratories locations outside the USA. The Center of Excellence for diseases of the central nervous system located here, large parts of pharmaceutical development and the entire production have been part of AbbVie since 2013 . All that remains with Abbott is the specialist center for European regulatory affairs, as well as various service units, primarily for the support of clinical studies.

Wetzlar

Since March 2007 there has been a location in Wetzlar in central Hesse - this is where the administration of the Vascular division is located - i.e. all of Abbott's cardiovascular activities. Since the takeover of the Vascular businesses from Guidant Corp. In 2006 these were incorporated into Abbott Vascular.

Criticism of the company

Abbott Laboratories has been criticized several times by AIDS activists in the past few years. One reason for this was the price increase for the HIV drug Norvir in 2003 from $ 1.71 to $ 8.57 within one day. However, the company's policy regarding the HIV drug Kaletra, which belongs to the second generation of HIV preparations, was criticized even more. Many organizations such as Doctors Without Borders , the Student Global AIDS Campaign or Act Up organized protests in the United States in order to get Abbott to register the drug in third world countries. The reaction to this was the introduction of the preparation Aluvia . This contains the same active ingredients as Kaletra and is approved in third world countries. In addition, it is offered to these countries at a low price compared to Kaletra.

Products (selection)

Web links

Commons : Abbott Laboratories  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Annual Report 2019. In: abbottinvestor.com. Retrieved May 19, 2020 .
  2. ^ Abbott Global. Archived from the original on June 19, 2016 ; Retrieved February 19, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Abbott completes spin-off of research-based pharmaceuticals business. Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, archived from the original on February 3, 2015 ; Retrieved January 2, 2013 .
  4. ↑ About us website of the German AbbVie, accessed on February 4, 2014
  5. ^ Therapy Areas website of the German AbbVie, accessed on February 4, 2014
  6. ↑ Abbott to Buy St. Jude Medical in Deal Valued at About $ 25 Billion . In: Bloomberg.com . April 28, 2016 ( bloomberg.com [accessed January 23, 2017]).
  7. ^ Relocation from AbbVie Germany to the city center ( Memento from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: wiesbaden.de
  8. ^ For Healthcare Professionals. In: abbott.com. Retrieved June 30, 2020 .