Abbott Laboratories' products, challenges, and market position

Abbott Laboratories

Abbot Laboratories Overview

Abbott Laboratories is a 120-year-old global company that currently employs approximately 90,000 people (Abbott.com, 2011). The company researchers, develops, and markets a wide range of health and health care-related products that span the entire life cycle from prenatal care to geriatric care. The major areas of Abbott Laboratories products are pharmaceutical products, nutritional products, diagnostic instruments and testing materials, medical and surgical devices, animal and veterinary health products, and technologies for vision health (Abbott.com, 2011).

One of the current problems facing Abbott Laboratories is the significant decline in the sales volume of its cholesterol drug Niaspan as a result of concerns about its safety and effectiveness raised in a U.S. government study that was halted in May of this year (Loftus, 2011). Another of the current problems faced by Abbott Laboratories is the risk of organized major pirating thefts of valuable health care products for sale on the international black market, such as in connection with the June 19, 2011 theft of an entire tractor trailer's worth of glucose monitoring products in Louisville, Kentucky (Reuters.com, 2011).

Current Challenges and Problems

On May 26, 2011, the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute terminated a clinical trial of Abbot Laboratories' cholesterol drug Niaspan a full year and a half earlier than scheduled (Loftus, 2011). That decision was based on specific concerns over data indicating that Niaspan failed to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in connection with its combination with statin drugs. That study also suggested that Niaspan could be a potential factor in the unexplained increase in ischemic-stroke rates among study participants. Last year, Abbott generated Niaspan sales totaling $927 million and had projected sales in excess of $1 billion this year. According to industry analysts, the early cessation of the government study and the concerns it raised could result in a decline in sales of as much as 20% next year (Loftus, 2011). Another problem for the company emerged in June when an entire tractor trailer's worth of glucose monitoring equipment was stolen in Louisville, Kentucky (Reuters.com, 2011). That type of crime is a growing problem because of the strength and scope of the black market for medical and pharmaceutical products and the large demand for those products. In addition to the loss of revenues at issue, Abbott Laboratories is also concerned about potential harm to patients attributable to tampering and contamination of stolen Abbot products sold to unsuspecting consumers.