Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2007. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - January 18, 2007
Bruce Japsen, Tribune staff reporter, bjapsen@tribune.com
GE operates GE Healthcare, a provider of medical imaging, diagnostic tests and patient monitoring systems.
Abbott spokeswoman Melissa Brotz said the North Chicago-based company does not "comment on rumors." GE Healthcare spokesman Brian McKaig said he had no comment.
Abbott's diagnostic businesses, which employ nearly 4,000 people in Lake County, make tests to detect heart disease, cancer and HIV. Worldwide the unit employs some 15,000.
Abbott's diagnostic test-making business had sales of $2.9 billion for the first nine months of this year, and accounted for less than 20 percent of the company's sales for that period.
Abbott is not likely to sell its fast-growing diabetes test-making operation, which has tests that measure glucose levels in seconds. Also not part of the deal, the source adds, is the molecular diagnostics business, which detects forms of cancer.
The part of the business that likely will be sold has been costly to Abbott. It makes in-vitro tests and large diagnostic machines used by hospitals and labs.
In 1999, Abbott paid a $100 million settlement as part of a consent decree after the Food and Drug Administration said Abbott ignored federal regulations and failed to comply with quality standards on diagnostic tests dating to 1993.
It took until late 2003 for Abbott to win approval to reintroduce dozens of diagnostic tests that the FDA forced off the U.S. market in November 1999. Analysts estimate the ordeal cost Abbott more than $1 billion in penalties and lost sales.
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