Abbott's ABSORB™ Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold Honored with Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award

ABBOTT PARK, Illinois, October 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Award Recognizes Advanced Therapy for Coronary Artery Disease that Treats Blocked Vessel, then Dissolves; Fourth Recognition in the Technology Innovation Awards for Abbott in Five Years

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that the investigational ABSORB™ bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) has been recognized as the winner of the Medical Devices category in the 2011 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards. ABSORB is an implantable device that restores blood flow by opening a blocked artery and providing support to the vessel until the device dissolves. Once in place, ABSORB dissolves in approximately two years, leaving patients with a treated vessel free of a permanent metallic implant.

The first drug eluting device of its kind for coronary artery disease, ABSORB is made of polylactide, a proven biocompatible material that is commonly used in medical implants such as dissolvable sutures. Because a permanent metallic implant is not left behind, naturally occurring vessel functions may be restored, which is one of the features that make this device a significant innovation for patients in the evaluation and treatment of coronary artery disease.

"ABSORB represents the best in scientific innovation, as it has the potential to change the way physicians practice medicine and improve outcomes for their patients," said Robert B. Hance, senior vice president, vascular, Abbott. "We are pleased that this innovation, which has been developed in the U.S. over nearly a decade, has the prospect of advancing patient care around the globe. Abbott is honored to receive this prestigious award."

In January 2011, Abbott announced that ABSORB received CE Mark in Europe for the treatment of coronary artery disease. In the United States, ABSORB currently is under development and is not available for sale. ABSORB is being evaluated in more than 40 clinical centers in 20 countries around the world.

In 2010, Abbott was a Runner Up in the Medical Devices category of The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards for its investigational MitraClip® System, a catheter-based device for the treatment of mitral regurgitation. In 2009, Abbott's Ibis T5000 Biosensor system, designed to detect and characterize a broad range of infectious agents, was honored as the category winner in Medicine-Biotech and received the overall Gold Award across all the categories. In 2007, Abbott's HUMIRA® was a Runner Up in the Medical-Biotech category as a self-injectable treatment for Crohn's disease.

In its 11th year, The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards assessed applications on three criteria: whether the innovation breaks with conventional ideas or processes in its field; whether it goes beyond marginal improvements of an existing technology; and whether it will have a wide impact in its field or on future technology. This year, The Wall Street Journal received 605 entries from companies, organizations and individuals in 31 countries. The judges chose 35 winners and runners up in 16 categories. The independent panel of judges included individuals from venture-capital firms, universities and other organizations and companies.

About Abbott Vascular

Abbott Vascular is a global leader in cardiac and vascular care with market-leading products and an industry-leading pipeline. Abbott Vascular offers a comprehensive cardiac and vascular devices portfolio, including products for coronary artery disease, vessel closure, endovascular disease and structural heart disease.

About Abbott

Abbott is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs nearly 90,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.

Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com.