Abbott Laboratories Signs Agreement for Broad-Spectrum

Antibiotic Abbott Secures Cefditoren From Meiji Seika for MajorInternational Markets ABBOTT PARK, Ill. (PROTEXT) - Abbott Laboratories announcedtoday that it has secured rights to market cefditoren pivoxil(cefditoren), a potent, broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic.The agreement with Meiji Seika of Japan gives Abbott co-marketingrights in Europe and exclusive rights to manufacture and marketcefditoren throughout Latin America. The companies have alsosigned a binding letter of intent that will allow Abbott tomarket cefditoren throughout the Pacific/Asia region, with theexception of Japan and Korea, following a definitive agreement.Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Discovered and developed by Meiji Seika, and marketed in Japansince 1994, cefditoren is an advanced generation oralcephalosporin that has a broad spectrum of activity against grampositive and gram negative pathogens. Cefditoren is currently inphase 3 clinical studies in the United States and Europe, whereit is being developed as a first-line agent for respiratory tractinfections, including pneumonia. A major threat to the treatment of infectious disease isbacterial resistance to certain antibiotics, such as penicillin.A 1992-93 surveillance study in Western Europe and the UnitedStates has shown that Streptococcus pneumoniae -- the most commoncause of community-acquired pneumonia -- has overall resistanceto penicillin of 23 percent, with some countries demonstratingresistance above 50 percent. Cefditoren has demonstrated in vitroefficacy against penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae.The product in vitro has been shown to be one of the more potentcephalosporins developed to date against common respiratorypathogens. "Cefditoren complements Abbott's existing strength in theanti-infectives arena by offering to general practitioners andpediatricians a treatment that addresses penicillin resistanceand provides a high degree of safety and effectiveness forcommunity-acquired respiratory infections," said Josef Wendler,senior vice president, international operations, AbbottLaboratories. Abbott's leadership in anti-infectives dates back to theintroduction in the 1950s of erythromycin, an antibiotic stillwidely used today. In 1990, the company launched clarithromycin(trade names Klacid(R), Klaricid(R) and Biaxin(R)), a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is Abbott's most successfulpharmaceutical product. In 1998, global sales of clarithromycinexceeded $1.25 billion. According to IMS Health, the total 1997 worldwide antibioticmarket was estimated at $21.6 billion, with the total oralcephalosporin market estimated at $3.8 billion. In the United States, cefditoren is licensed by TAPPharmaceuticals Inc., a joint venture between Abbott Laboratoriesand Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd. of Osaka, Japan. Abbott Laboratories is a global, diversified health carecompany devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture andmarketing of pharmaceutical, diagnostic, nutritional and hospitalproducts. The company employs 56,000 people and markets itsproducts in more than 130 countries. In 1998, the company's salesand net earnings were $12.5 billion and $2.3 billion,respectively, with diluted earnings per share of $1.51. Abbott's news releases and other information are available onthe company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com. ots OriginalText Service: Abbott Laboratories Internet:http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Laureen Cassidy of AbbottLaboratories, 847-938-7743 Company News On-Call:http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/110328.html or fax, 800-758-5804,ext. 110328 Web site: http://www.abbott.com

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