Abbott's Groundbreaking Bioresorbable Technology Continues to Demonstrate Exceptional Clinical Results

New Six-Month Data on Abbott's Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold Reinforces Its Potential to Be the Next Revolution in Interventional Cardiology

PARIS, May 25, 2010 - Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced positive six-month results from the
first 45 patients enrolled in the second stage of the ABSORB trial, which was
presented during the Late-Breaking Clinical Trials session at the EuroPCR
2010 conference. At six months, Abbott's bioresorbable vascular scaffold
(BVS) demonstrated strong results, with a low (4.4 percent) rate of major
adverse cardiac events (MACE(1)) and no blood clots (thromboses). Abbott's
BVS also demonstrated an in-stent late loss rate of 0.19 mm. Late loss is a
measure of vessel re-narrowing and looks at the change in the diameter inside
the device between the time immediately following scaffold placement and at
six months. The amount of re-narrowing tells physicians how effective a
scaffold procedure was at keeping the blood vessel open.

"With each new data milestone, Abbott's revolutionary BVS technology is
one step closer to becoming a reality. The device achieved a six-month late
loss rate of 0.19 mm. This finding suggests that the BVS may have the
potential to treat a blocked vessel as effectively as a metallic drug eluting
stent, with the added potential benefit of not leaving a permanent implant
behind after the vessel is healed," said Patrick W. Serruys, M.D., Ph.D.,
professor of interventional cardiology at the Thoraxcentre, Erasmus
University Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and principal investigator
for the ABSORB trial. "These extraordinary findings signal that Abbott's
disappearing scaffold may become the new standard of care for treating
coronary artery disease."

Abbott's BVS, which is under clinical investigation in Europe, Australia
and New Zealand and is not currently available for sale anywhere in the
world, is made of polylactide, a proven biocompatible material that is
commonly used in medical implants such as dissolving sutures. The
bioresorbable technology is designed to restore blood flow by opening a
clogged vessel and providing support until it is healed. Once the vessel can
remain open without the extra support, the bioresorbable scaffold is designed
to be slowly metabolized and eventually resorbed by the body. Since a
permanent implant is not left behind, a vessel treated with a BVS ultimately
may have the ability to move, flex and pulsate similar to an untreated
vessel. The potential to restore these naturally occurring vessel functions,
or vascular restoration, is one of the features that will make Abbott's BVS
unique in the treatment of coronary artery disease.

"In addition to achieving low late loss, Abbott's bioresorbable scaffold
demonstrated positive clinical outcomes, with no thrombosis and a low rate of
adverse events at six months. These results are encouraging and add to the
strong body of BVS data that has been gathered over the last several years,"
said Charles A. Simonton, M.D., FACC, FSCAI, divisional vice president,
Medical Affairs, and chief medical officer, Abbott Vascular. "The ABSORB
trial is a perfect example of Abbott's dedication to developing technology
that has the potential to revolutionize the way physicians treat coronary
artery disease."

About the ABSORB Clinical Trial

The ABSORB trial is a prospective, non-randomized (open label), two-phase
study that enrolled 131 patients from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France,
the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and Switzerland. Key endpoints of the
study include assessments of safety - MACE and treated site thrombosis rates
- at 30 days; six, nine, 12 and 24 months; with additional annual clinical
follow-up for up to five years, as well as an assessment of the acute
performance of the bioresorbable vascular scaffold, including successful
deployment of the system. Other key endpoints of the study include imaging
assessments by angiography, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), optical
coherence tomography (OCT), and other state-of-the-art invasive and
non-invasive imaging modalities at six, 12, 18 and 24 months. The next 56
patients in the second phase of the ABSORB trial will undergo imaging
follow-up one year after their procedures, and all 101 patients in the second
phase of the trial will receive follow-up imaging at two years.

Abbott's bioresorbable technology delivers everolimus, an
anti-proliferative drug. Everolimus is developed by Novartis Pharma AG and is
licensed to Abbott by Novartis for use on its drug eluting vascular devices.
Everolimus has been shown to inhibit treated site neointimal growth in the
coronary vessels following vascular device implantation, due to its
anti-proliferative properties.

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 approximately 83,000 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 www.abbott.com.

(1) MACE is a composite measure of key efficacy and safety endpoints and
includes cardiac death, heart attack (myocardial infarction) and
ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization.

Media, Jonathon Hamilton, +1-408-624-0314 or Jennie Kim, +1-408-332-4176, or Financial, Larry Peepo, +1-847-935-6722 or Tina Ventura, +1-847-935-9390, all for Abbott