Abbott Honored as One of The Deal’s Most Admired Corporate Dealmakers

Awards Recognize Companies That Demonstrate Best Strategic Use of Mergers and Acquisitions

The Deal magazine has named Abbott as the healthcare sector winner of its inaugural Most Admired Corporate Dealmakers Awards. The Deal honored Abbott for the most effective strategic use of acquisitions and divestitures.

Over the past decade, Abbott has reshaped its business portfolio with a focus on high-growth, innovation-driven businesses with market-leading potential. The company:

* Acquired Knoll Pharmaceuticals, positioning Abbott as a global leader in biotechnology with HUMIRA®, a biologic for treating several debilitating autoimmune diseases. Since its launch in 2003, HUMIRA has grown to more than $3 billion in annual sales in 2007 and Abbott expects sales of more than $4.4 billion in 2008.
* Purchased Kos Pharmaceuticals, immediately enhancing Abbott’s existing franchise and portfolio strength in the $20 billion lipid management market.
* Acquired Guidant’s vascular business, providing Abbott with the innovative drug-eluting stent, XIENCE V™, and the world’s first bioabsorbable drug-eluting stent to enter clinical trials. With nearly global availability since July 2008, XIENCE V has quickly gained market leadership based on strong clinical data.
* Entered high-growth vascular and point-of-care markets through the acquisitions of Perclose and i-STAT and enhanced its leadership position in diabetes care with the purchase of TheraSense.

“Abbott has taken a deliberate approach to acquisitions, identifying and pursuing transactions that either complement our existing portfolio or allow us to enter new innovation-driven markets with leadership potential,” said Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. “This strategic approach, combined with our internal R&D efforts, has enabled Abbott to consistently deliver industry-leading performance and generate double-digit returns for our shareholders.”

The Deal’s readers rated Abbott best on all four of its award criteria: choice of targets and strategy; price paid (or received) compared to value; execution, including integration; and overall quality of the deal team. Companies considered for the survey have a market capitalization of $5 billion or more as of June 30, 2008, and closed the highest number and dollar value of acquisitions and divestitures in the past three years.