Abbott Laboratories - 10-Q quarterly report FY

PART I.  FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Earnings

(Unaudited)

(dollars and shares in thousands except per share data)

The accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

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Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

(dollars in thousands)

The accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

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Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet

(Unaudited)

(dollars in thousands)

The accompanying notes to condensed consolidated financial statements are an integral part of this statement.

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Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

September 30, 2005

(Unaudited)

Note 1 – Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited, condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared pursuant to rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and, therefore, do not include all information and footnote disclosures normally included in audited financial statements.  However, in the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary to present fairly the results of operations, financial position and cash flows have been made.  It is suggested that these statements be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in Abbott’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004.

Note 2 – Spin-off of Hospira

On April 12, 2004, Abbott’s board of directors declared a special dividend distribution of all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Hospira, Inc.  For every 10 Abbott common shares held at the close of business on April 22, 2004, Abbott shareholders received one share of Hospira stock on April 30, 2004.  Hospira included the operations relating to the manufacture and sale of hospital products including specialty injectable pharmaceuticals, medication delivery systems and critical care devices and injectable pharmaceutical contract manufacturing.  Hospira included Abbott’s Hospital products segment, after that segment’s reorganization on January 1, 2004, and portions of Abbott’s International segment.  The income and cash flows of Hospira and the direct transaction costs of the spin-off have been presented as discontinued operations in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Earnings and Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

The legal transfer of certain operations and assets (net of liabilities) outside the United States is expected to occur in 2005 and 2006.  Approximately half of these operations are expected to be transferred to Hospira in 2005 with the remaining operations transferring in the first half of 2006.  As of September 30, 2005, 48 percent of these operations have been transferred to Hospira.  These operations and assets are used in the conduct of Hospira’s international business and Hospira is subject to the risks and entitled to the benefits generated by these operations and assets.  These assets and liabilities have been presented as held for sale in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.  The assets and liabilities held for sale consist primarily of inventories, trade accounts receivable, equipment and trade accounts payable, salaries and other accruals.

Summarized financial information for discontinued operations is as follows: (dollars in thousands)

The financial information above includes the operations of Hospira through April 30, 2004, the date of the spin-off.  As a consequence, the results for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 include only four months of the operations of Hospira.  The results of the discontinued operations also include direct transaction costs of approximately $36 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2004.

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Note 3 – Supplemental Financial Information

(dollars in thousands)

Supplemental Cash Flow Information – Other, net in Net Cash From Operating Activities of Continuing Operations for 2005 includes the effects of contributions to the main domestic defined benefit plan of $641,000 and to the post-employment medical and dental plans of $140,000.

Note 4 – Taxes on Earnings

Taxes on earnings reflect the estimated annual effective rates and for the first nine months 2005 include additional income taxes of approximately $52 million for remittances of foreign earnings of approximately $600 million in connection with the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.  In February 2005, management concluded that it would remit these earnings in 2005.  In October 2005, Abbott management concluded that it would remit an additional $3.7 billion of foreign earnings in 2005.  The additional income tax expense required for the $3.7 billion is approximately $220 million and is expected to be recorded in the fourth quarter of 2005.  2004 includes the effects of charges for acquired in-process research and development and for other non-tax deductible items.  The effective tax rates, excluding the effect of these 2005 and 2004 items, are less than the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate principally due to the domestic dividend exclusion and the benefit of lower statutory tax rates and tax exemptions in several taxing jurisdictions.

Note 5 – Litigation and Environmental Matters

As of December 31, 2004, there were several lawsuits pending in connection with the sales of Hytrin. These suits alleged that Abbott violated state or federal antitrust laws and, in some cases, unfair competition laws by signing patent settlement agreements with Geneva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Zenith Laboratories, Inc. in 1998. Those agreements related to pending patent infringement lawsuits between Abbott and the two companies.  In the second quarter of 2005, the court approved settlements with the majority of the plaintiffs in the aggregate amount of $90 million which was previously reserved.  The claims of the remaining plaintiffs are not material and are reserved for by Abbott.

Abbott has been identified as a potentially responsible party for investigation and cleanup costs at a number of locations in the United States and Puerto Rico under federal and state remediation laws and is investigating potential contamination at a number of company-owned locations. Abbott has recorded an estimated cleanup cost for each site for which management believes Abbott has a probable loss exposure. No individual site cleanup exposure is expected to exceed $3 million, and the aggregate cleanup exposure is not expected to exceed $20 million.

Within the next year, legal proceedings may occur that may result in a change in the estimated reserves recorded by Abbott.  For its legal proceedings and environmental exposures, including those discussed in this note and in Note 6, Abbott estimates the range of possible loss to be from approximately $25 million to $110 million.  Reserves of approximately $45 million have been recorded at September 30, 2005 for these proceedings and exposures.  These reserves represent management’s best estimate of probable loss, except for one which is recorded at the minimum, as defined by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 5, “Accounting for Contingencies.”

While it is not feasible to predict the outcome of all such proceedings and exposures with certainty, management believes that their ultimate disposition should not have a material adverse effect on Abbott’s financial position, cash flows, or results of operations.

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Note 6 – TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc.

As of December 31, 2004, TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. (TAP) and Abbott were named as defendants in several lawsuits alleging violations of various state or federal laws in connection with TAP’s marketing and pricing ofLupron. In the second quarter of 2005, the court approved settlements with the majority of the plaintiffs in the aggregate amount of $150 million which was previously reserved.  The claims of the remaining plaintiffs are not material and are reserved for by TAP.  Abbott’s portion of TAP’s remaining reserve is included in the reserve amounts and range in Note 5 above.

Within the next year, legal proceedings may occur that may result in a change in the estimated reserves recorded by TAP. While it is not feasible to predict the outcome of such pending claims, proceedings, and investigations with certainty, management is of the opinion that their ultimate disposition should not have a material adverse effect on Abbott’s financial position, cash flows, or results of operations.

Note 7 – Post-Employment Benefits

(dollars in millions)

Retirement plans consist of defined benefit, defined contribution, and medical and dental plans.  Net cost recognized in continuing operations for the nine months ended September 30 for Abbott’s major defined benefit plans and post-employment medical and dental benefit plans is as follows:

Abbott funds its domestic defined benefit plans according to IRS funding limitations.  In the first nine months of 2005, $641 was contributed to the main domestic defined benefit plan and $140 was contributed to the post-employment medical and dental benefit plans. In the first nine months of 2004, $295 was contributed to the main domestic defined benefit plan.

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Note 11 – Incentive Stock Programs

Abbott measures compensation cost using the intrinsic value-based method of accounting for stock options and replacement stock options granted to employees.  Had compensation cost been determined using a fair market value-based accounting method, pro forma net earnings (in millions) and earnings per share (EPS) amounts would have been as shown in the table below.  Effective in the first quarter 2005, the calculation of pro forma compensation expense was modified to reflect a shorter vesting period for employees who are retirement eligible or who will be retirement eligible during the normal vesting period. Approximately 40 to 45 percent of the annual net cost of stock options granted will typically be recognized in the first quarter due to the timing of stock option grants.  The effect of this change has an immaterial effect on the annual pro forma compensation expense.  The quarterly pro forma compensation cost and EPS amounts for 2004 have been adjusted to reflect this change.

The above information was derived using Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 123 and the Black-Scholes valuation model.  In December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004), “Share-Based Payment.”  This standard required companies to expense employee stock options beginning no later than July 1, 2005.  On April 14, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that companies may implement SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004) at the beginning of their next fiscal year that begins after June 15, 2005.  Abbott expects to adopt the revised rules on January 1, 2006.

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Note 12 – Equity Method Investments

(dollars in millions)

Abbott’s 50 percent-owned joint venture, TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. (TAP), is accounted for under the equity method of accounting.  Summarized financial information for TAP is as follows:

Note 13 – Goodwill and Intangible Assets

(dollars in millions)

Abbott recorded goodwill of approximately $67 related to the acquisition of a medical device company in the third quarter of 2005. Abbott also recorded goodwill of approximately $834 related to the acquisitions of TheraSense in the second quarter of 2004 and
i-STAT in the first quarter of 2004.  Foreign currency translation adjustments (decreased) increased goodwill in the first nine months of 2005 and 2004 by approximately ($350) and $14, respectively and approximately $81 was transferred to Hospira.  There were no other reductions of goodwill relating to impairments or disposal of all or a portion of a business.

The gross amount of amortizable intangible assets, primarily product rights and technology, was $6,548 as of September 30, 2005 and $6,622 as of December 31, 2004, and accumulated amortization was $1,888 as of September 30, 2005 and $1,468 as of December 31, 2004.  Intangible assets with indefinite lives are not significant.  The estimated annual amortization expense for intangible assets is $491 in 2005, $483 in 2006, $467 in 2007, $449 in 2008, and $443 in 2009.  Intangible assets are amortized primarily on a straight-line basis over 4 to 25 years (average 13 years).

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Note 14 – Restructuring Plans

(dollars in millions)

In 2005, Abbott management approved plans to realign its global manufacturing operations and selected international commercial operations.  In the second and third quarters of 2005, Abbott recorded pretax charges against earnings of approximately $229 reflecting the impairment of manufacturing facilities and other assets, employee severance and other related charges.  Approximately $175 is classified as cost of products sold, $5 as research and development and $49 as selling, general and administrative.  An additional $2 was incurred in the third quarter relating to these restructurings, primarily for accelerated depreciation.  As a result of product re-registration timelines required under manufacturing regulations in a number of countries, this manufacturing realignment will continue into 2007.

The following summarizes the restructuring activity for the global pharmaceutical manufacturing operations restructuring:

The following summarizes the restructuring activity for all other restructurings, which are individually not material:

Abbott expects to incur up to an additional $190 in future periods for restructuring plans, primarily for accelerated depreciation and plant and equipment dispositions.

Note 15 – Subsequent Event

In October 2005, Abbott announced that it had reached agreement with Cambridge Antibody Technologies (CAT) whereby Abbott will pay fixed and revenue-based royalties to CAT.  The present value of the fixed portion of the royalties, amounting to approximately $270 million, will be recorded as an amortizable intangible asset in the fourth quarter of 2005.

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FINANCIAL REVIEW

Results of Operations

The following table details sales by reportable segment for the third quarter and first nine months:

(dollars in millions)

(a) Percentage changes are based on unrounded numbers.

Worldwide sales for the third quarter and nine months 2005 reflect primarily unit growth and the positive effect of the relatively weaker U.S. dollar.  The relatively weaker U.S. dollar increased third quarter and first nine months 2005 consolidated net sales 1.1 percent and 2.0 percent respectively, and increased Total International sales 2.6 percent and 4.6 percent over the third quarter and first nine months 2004.  In addition, the effect of the relatively weaker U.S. dollar increased third quarter and first nine months 2005 sales in the Diagnostic products segment by 1.6 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, and International segment sales by 2.6 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.  Sales for the Ross segment were favorably impacted in 2005 by the acquisition of EAS in the fourth quarter of 2004 and by incremental revenue of $70 million, recorded in the third quarter of 2005, from a revised agreement for the U.S. promotion of Synagis.

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A comparison of the product group sales by segment for the nine months ended September 30 is as follows: (dollars in millions)

 (a) Percentage changes are versus the prior year and are based on unrounded numbers.

Increased sales volume of Mobic in 2005 favorably impacted the Primary Care product sales of the Pharmaceutical products segment, and increased sales volume of Humira favorably impacted Specialty product sales in 2005 and 2004. U.S. sales of Synthroid, which is now subject to generic competition, were $358 million and $496 million in the first nine months of 2005 and 2004, respectively.  Increased sales volume of Humira also favorably impacted Other Pharmaceuticals sales in the International segment.  Worldwide sales of Humira totaled $959 million in the first nine months 2005 and are forecasted to be more than $1.3 billion for the full year 2005.  Diagnostics and International segment product sales were favorably impacted in 2005 and 2004 by the effect of the relatively weaker U.S. dollar.  Diabetes Care product sales for the Diagnostic segment were favorably impacted by the acquisition of TheraSense in the second quarter of 2004.  Adult Nutritionals product sales for the Ross products segment were favorably impacted by the acquisition of EAS in the fourth quarter of 2004 and Pediatric Nutritional product sales were unfavorably impacted in 2005 due to lower sales of Similac.  In the third quarter of 2005, Baxter International received a court ruling that its proposed generic sevoflurane product does not infringe Abbott’s patents.  Abbott has appealed.  Baxter is prohibited from marketing their product in the U.S. or exporting outside the U.S. until after December 10, 2005, as a result of a previous Alternative Dispute Resolution between the parties.  U.S. and international sales of sevoflurane were $246 million and $395 million, respectively, for the first nine months of 2005.

The gross profit margin was 50.3 percent for the third quarter 2005, compared to 54.8 percent for the third quarter 2004.  First nine months 2005 gross profit margin was 51.9 percent, compared to 55.4 percent for the first nine months 2004.  The decrease in the gross profit margins was due to unfavorable product mix, primarily as a result of increased sales of Boehringer Ingelheim products that have lower margins than other products in the Pharmaceutical products segment.  Restructuring charges, discussed below, reduced the gross profit margin in the third quarter and first nine months 2005 by 2.9 and 1.1 percentage points, respectively.

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In 2005, Abbott and Boehringer Ingelheim amended the terms of the agreement under which Abbott distributes certain Boehringer Ingelheim products.  The amended terms will take effect on January 1, 2006.  Abbott will no longer distribute, or record sales for the Boehringer Ingelheim products, but will co-promote one product, Micardis, through March 31, 2006, and will receive residual commissions on Boehringer Ingelheim’s sales of the three products. The amount of pretax income under the revised arrangement will be the same as expected under the previous agreement. Net sales of Boehringer Ingelheim products for the first nine months of 2005 were approximately $1.7 billion.

Research and development expenses increased 14.6 percent in the third quarter 2005 and 7.9 percent for the first nine months 2005, respectively, over comparable 2004 periods.  These increases were due, in part, to increased spending to support late-stage pharmaceutical pipeline programs, including follow-on indications for Humira, and on clinical programs in the vascular business.  The majority of research and development expenditures are concentrated on pharmaceutical products.

Selling, general and administrative expenses for the third quarter and first nine months 2005 increased 23.2 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively, over the comparable 2004 periods.  The restructuring charges discussed below and an increase in a bad debt reserve associated with an unfavorable court ruling increased the percent change from 2004 by 8.9 and 3.1 percentage points in the third quarter and first nine months 2005, respectively.  These increases were also due to increased selling and marketing support for new and existing products, including commercial activities related to sales force expansion and product launches including Abbott’s carotid stent and new Humira indications.  These increases also reflect the effects of the acquisitions of TheraSense in the second quarter of 2004 and EAS in the fourth quarter of 2004.

Abbott’s income from the TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. joint venture for the third quarter and first nine months of 2004 was adversely affected by approximately $40 million as a result of an agreement with plaintiffs to settle litigation.

Restructurings

(dollars in millions)

In 2005, Abbott management approved plans to realign its global manufacturing operations and selected international commercial operations.  In the second and third quarters of 2005, Abbott recorded pretax charges against earnings of approximately $229 reflecting the impairment of manufacturing facilities and other assets, employee severance and other related charges.  Approximately $175 is classified as cost of products sold, $5 as research and development and $49 as selling, general and administrative.  An additional $2 was incurred in the third quarter relating to these restructurings, primarily for accelerated depreciation.  As a result of product re-registration timelines required under manufacturing regulations in a number of countries, this manufacturing realignment will continue into 2007.

 The following summarizes the restructuring activity for the global pharmaceutical manufacturing operations restructuring:

The following summarizes the restructuring activity for all other restructurings, which are individually not material:

Abbott expects to incur up to an additional $190 in future periods for restructuring plans, primarily for accelerated depreciation and plant and equipment dispositions.

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Subsequent Event

In October 2005, Abbott announced that it had reached agreement with Cambridge Antibody Technologies (CAT) whereby Abbott will pay fixed and revenue-based royalties to CAT.  The present value of the fixed portion of the royalties, amounting to approximately $270 million, will be recorded as an amortizable intangible asset in the fourth quarter of 2005.  The fixed and variable royalties under the revised agreement are expected to result in lower expense compared to the prior agreement.

Spin-off of Hospira

On April 12, 2004, Abbott’s board of directors declared a special dividend distribution of all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Hospira, Inc.  For every 10 Abbott common shares held at the close of business on April 22, 2004, Abbott shareholders received one share of Hospira stock on April 30, 2004.  Hospira included the operations relating to the manufacture and sale of hospital products including specialty injectable pharmaceuticals, medication delivery systems and critical care devices and injectable pharmaceutical contract manufacturing.  Hospira included Abbott’s Hospital products segment, after that segment’s reorganization on January 1, 2004, and portions of Abbott’s International segment.  The income and cash flows of Hospira and the direct transaction costs of the spin-off have been presented as discontinued operations in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Earnings and Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

The legal transfer of certain operations and assets (net of liabilities) outside the United States is expected to occur in 2005 and 2006.  Approximately half of these operations are expected to be transferred to Hospira in 2005 with the remaining operations transferring in the first half of 2006.  As of September 30, 2005, 48 percent of the operations have been transferred to Hospira.  These operations and assets are used in the conduct of Hospira’s international business and Hospira is subject to the risks and entitled to the benefits generated by these operations and assets.  These assets and liabilities have been presented as held for sale in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet.  The assets and liabilities held for sale consist primarily of inventories, trade accounts receivable, equipment and trade accounts payable, salaries and other accruals.

Interest Expense

Net interest expense increased in both the third quarter and first nine months of 2005 due to the impact of higher interest rates on debt levels, partially offset by higher interest income.

Taxes on Earnings

Taxes on earnings reflect the estimated annual effective rates and for the first nine months 2005 include additional income taxes of approximately $52 million for remittances of foreign earnings of approximately $600 million in connection with the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.  In February 2005, management concluded that it would remit these earnings in 2005.  In October 2005, Abbott management concluded that it would remit an additional $3.7 billion of foreign earnings in 2005.  The additional income tax expense required for the $3.7 billion is approximately $220 million and is expected to be recorded in the fourth quarter of 2005.  The effect of the increased income taxes on the remittance of foreign earnings was to increase the first nine months 2005 effective tax rate by approximately 1.6 percentage points.  2004 also includes the effects of charges for acquired in-process research and development and other non-tax deductible items.  The effective tax rates, excluding the effect of the 2005 and 2004 items, are less than the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate principally due to the domestic dividend exclusion and the benefit of lower statutory tax rates and tax exemptions in several taxing jurisdictions.

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Business Combinations and Technology Acquisitions

In the third quarter of 2005, Abbott acquired the remaining interest in a small medical products company that was previously accounted for under the equity method of accounting.  The cash purchase price was approximately $10 million.  Acquisition accounting resulted in the recording of non-tax deductible goodwill of approximately $67 million, intangible assets of approximately $22 million and a charge of approximately $2 million for acquired in-process research and development.  In addition, Abbott acquired a less than 50 percent equity interest in a small medical products company for approximately $15 million in cash, resulting in a charge to acquired in-process research and development of approximately $15 million.

In April 2004, Abbott acquired TheraSense, Inc., a leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of blood glucose self-monitoring systems, for approximately $1.2 billion in cash.  Abbott also acquired certain other product technologies for approximately $352 million.  These acquisitions resulted in a charge of $164 million for acquired in-process research and development, intangible assets of approximately $912 million, non-tax deductible goodwill of approximately $623 million and deferred income taxes of approximately $241 million.  Acquired intangible assets, primarily product technology, are amortized over 9 to 17 years (average of approximately 13 years).  In January 2004, Abbott acquired i-STAT Corporation, a manufacturer of point-of-care diagnostic products for blood analysis, for approximately $394 million in cash.  In the first quarter of 2004, Abbott recorded a charge of approximately $60 million for acquired in-process research and development, intangible assets of approximately $263 million, non-tax deductible goodwill of approximately $109 million and deferred income taxes of approximately $105 million.  Acquired intangible assets, primarily product technology, are amortized over 7 to 18 years (average of approximately 17 years).

Had these acquisitions taken place on January 1 of the previous year, consolidated sales and income would not have been significantly different from reported amounts.

Liquidity and Capital Resources at September 30, 2005 Compared with December 31, 2004

Net cash from operating activities of continuing operations for the first nine months 2005 totaled $3.7 billion. Abbott expects annual cash flow from operating activities to continue to exceed Abbott’s capital expenditures and cash dividends.

At September 30, 2005, Abbott had working capital of approximately $2.2 billion compared to working capital of approximately $3.9 billion at December 31, 2004.  The decrease in working capital is due to an increase in the current portion of long-term debt.

At September 30, 2005, Abbott’s long-term debt rating was AA by Standard & Poor’s Corporation and A1 by Moody’s Investors Service. Abbott has readily available financial resources, including unused lines of credit of $3.0 billion, which support commercial paper borrowing arrangements.

In October 2004, the board of directors authorized the purchase of 50 million shares of Abbott’s common stock from time to time and no shares were purchased under this authorization in 2004.  During the nine months ended September 30, 2005, Abbott purchased approximately 17.4 million of its common shares under this authorization at a cost of approximately $802 million.  In the nine months ended September 30, 2004, Abbott purchased approximately 11.7 million of its common shares at a cost of approximately $500 million under a prior authorization.

Under a registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2003, Abbott issued $1.5 billion of long-term debt in the first quarter of 2004 that matures in 2009 through 2014 with interest rates ranging from 3.5 percent to 4.35 percent.  Proceeds from this debt were used to fund the acquisition of TheraSense in the second quarter of 2004 and to pay down domestic commercial paper borrowings.

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Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In May 2005, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards  (SFAS) No. 154, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections.”  This statement generally requires retrospective application to prior periods’ financial statements of voluntary changes in accounting principles.  Under the prior rules, changes in accounting principles were generally recognized by including in net income of the period of the change the cumulative effect of changing to the new accounting principle.  This statement does not change the previous guidance for reporting the correction of an error in previously issued financial statements, change in accounting estimate or justification of a change in accounting principle on the basis of preferability.  This statement is effective for accounting changes made in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2005.  Adoption of the provisions of the Statement is not expected to have a material affect on the results of operations or financial position of Abbott.

In December 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued a revised Statement of Financial Accounting Standards  (SFAS) No. 123 (revised 2004), “Share-Based Payment.”   This standard required companies to expense employee stock options beginning no later than July 1, 2005.  On April 14, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that companies may implement SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004) at the beginning of their next fiscal year that begins after June 15, 2005.  Abbott expects to adopt the revised rules on January 1, 2006.  Abbott expects that stock compensation expense under the rules would reduce reported diluted earnings per share by approximately 14 cents in 2005.  The effect of adopting the new standard on diluted earnings per share in future periods is dependent on the number of options granted in the future, the terms of those awards and their fair values.

Legislative Issues

Abbott’s primary markets are highly competitive and subject to substantial government regulation.  Abbott expects debate to continue at both the federal and the state levels over the availability, method of delivery, and payment for health care products and services.  Abbott believes that if legislation is enacted, it could have the effect of reducing prices, or reducing the rate of price increases for health care products and services.  International operations are also subject to a significant degree of government regulation.  It is not possible to predict the extent to which Abbott or the health care industry in general might be adversely affected by these factors in the future.  A more complete discussion of these factors is contained in Item 1, Business, in the Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is available upon request.

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 — A Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Abbott cautions investors that any forward-looking statements or projections made by Abbott, including those made in this document, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott’s operations are discussed in Exhibit 99.1 to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005.

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