Abbott Laboratories: Creating the Next Generation of Pharma Products

The company set goals for itself in the 1980s: it wanted to lead in every segment and also to achieve at least 20 percent of the total market within a decade.

The company believed it was in a good position to accomplish this. Abbott Laboratories has an annual research and development budget of more than $150 million, which is also more than the total sales of many of its competitors. This ability to spend has allowed the company to move quickly into the fast-growing markets as they are identified. For instance, Abbott Laboratories started work on a diagnostic test for antibodies to the AIDS virus later than the competition but got to the market first, bringing in 60 percent of what is now a $50 million business. The sales force for the Diagnostics Division is noted for its aggressiveness, and it has managed to gain more than 50 percent of the doctor's office market for quick pregnancy tests (Deveny & Hamilton, 1987, p. 90).

The division has continued to try to find answers to medical questions in a way that corners a market or market segment. A little-known but widespread disease called toxoplasmosis is caused by a parasite often found in cat litter boxes and that has infected half the population of the country.

The Abbott Alkaloidal Company was founded in 1888 to sell an improved form of the dosimetric granule, a pill to supply uniform quantities of drugs. The granule and the company were created by Walter Abbott. During World War I, Abbott Laboratories developed techniques for synthesizing anesthetics and sedatives that had been available before only from the more advanced German companies. The company went public in 1929. The company increased production of penicillin for use in World War II. New products were introduced after the war, including different forms of penicillin. Consumer products were added in the 1960s, including Murine for the eyes and Selsun Shampoo. Nutritional formula (Similac) was added and became an important product, also involving Abbott laboratories later in the concerns expressed by critics over the way baby formula was being marketed.

Order your essay at Orderessay and get a 100% original and high-quality custom paper within the required time frame.