Abbott Opens New State-of-the-Art R&D Facility to Help Bring Medicines to Patients Faster

Company Invests $53 Million in New Lake County, Illinois, Pharmaceutical Development Center

Abbott Park, Illinois (NYSE: ABT) — Today Abbott officially opens its new Formulation Development Center at the company’s headquarters in Abbott Park, Illinois. The new facility provides leading capabilities for the formulation of new investigational medicines that have the potential to treat cancer and other deadly diseases. The center’s technology and equipment will help enable Abbott to expedite its development programs, potentially bringing innovative new pharmaceuticals to patients faster.

“The new formulation center is a clear example of Abbott’s commitment to advancing scientific innovation,” said John Leonard, M.D., senior vice president, Pharmaceuticals, Research and Development, Abbott. “With the growing number of compounds in Abbott’s pipeline, the new center utilizes the latest technology to accelerate the development of future medicines.”

The Formulation Development Center supports programs for both potent (drugs with highly active ingredients that require special handling) and non-potent oral compounds. This includes state-of-the-art capabilities for the safe formulation of potent compounds, such as cancer therapies, that are increasingly becoming more effective at low-dose levels.

Abbott’s new facility is focused on transforming complex molecules from the laboratory into tablets and capsules that can be used in pre-clinical and clinical studies to determine safety and efficacy. Formulation is an important step in the research and development process, providing a crucial link between the laboratory and commercial manufacturing. Formulation and process work begins shortly after a candidate molecule is identified. Initial formulations are then refined as more information is gathered through the development process.

The center was specifically designed with cutting-edge equipment and improvements to advance the R&D process, including automated technologies that reduce the time for preparing, producing and refining pilot drug formulations. In addition, all of the equipment in the facility is aligned with the production equipment in Abbott’s commercial manufacturing sites, which will allow for rapid scale-up of production as drug compounds move toward late-stage clinical trials and market availability for patients.

“We considered several locations for the new formulation center, but decided to strategically place the building in the midst of our other Abbott Park R&D facilities to provide easy access for our scientists, pharmacists and engineers,” said Leonard.
Fast Facts for Abbott’s New Formulation Development Center

* Location:
Abbott Park, Illinois
* Size and structure:
Two-story, 64,000-square-foot facility features a flexible design with modular walls and ceilings that will allow for rapid future expansion
* Key Current Formulation Programs:
Currently developing oral formulations (capsule and tablet) for clinical studies involving new compounds to treat cancer, hepatitis, pain and other areas
* Investment:
$53 million
* Facility Initiated/Completed:
Groundbreaking in June 2005; Completed in January 2008
* Personnel:
Seventeen dedicated onsite employees; more than 40 additional staff regularly work in the facility