Abbott Labs

Abbott is one of the most successful and oldest pharmaceutical and medical product companies in the United States. A Physician named Wallace Calvin Abbott started the small pharmaceutical operation from a kitchen in Chicago, in the late 1800’s. Morphine, quinine, strychnine, and codeine, which were all in liquid form, where commonly prescribed to patients by physicians, including Dr. Abbott himself. After hearing that a Belgium surgeon had developed alkaloids in solid form, Dr. Abbott found that he was dissatisfied with their quality and decided to manufacture his own. Abbott created “dosimetric granules”, which far exceeded the needs of his own practice because they provided more accurate and effective dosing for patients than any other treatments that were available at that time. He began to advertise his product in 1891, the product became so successful that he started selling shares to other doctors and incorporated the Abbott Alkaloidal Company. In 1915, the company changed their name to Abbott Laboratories to reflect their commitment to new areas of research, beyond Alkaloids.
During World War I, several important pharmaceuticals were manufactured exclusively by German companies and were no longer available in the United States; Abbott’s company became essential to the medical community. Abbott created procaine to replace the German novocaine and barbital to replace the German veronal. After the war the company opened a laboratory in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, that developed new drugs such as: sedatives, tranquilizers, and vitamins. In 1921 Dr Abbot passed away, but the company continued to heavily invest in product development and aggressive marketing campaigns. In 1929, Abbott Laboratories went public with a listing on the Chicago Stock Exchange. Two years later, Abbott expanded outside the United States with the establishment of an affiliate in Montreal, Canada.
      Abbott Laboratories competes in a large industry that contains many similar giant...