New Data Reinforces Safety Profile of Abbott's Market-Leading XIENCE V(R) Drug Eluting Stent

In XIENCE V USA Study, XIENCE V Demonstrates Low Blood Clot Rate at One Year in Real-World Patient Population

PARIS, May 25, 2010 - Two late-breaking clinical trials presented today at the EuroPCR 2010
conference reinforced the outstanding clinical data supporting Abbott's
market-leading XIENCE V(R) Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System. In the
XIENCE V USA study of more than 5,000 real-world, complex patients, XIENCE V
demonstrated a low rate of blood clots (stent thrombosis) at one year (0.84
percent per Academic Research Consortium [ARC] definition of
definite/probable stent thrombosis). In a subset of approximately 1,800 less
complex patients (referred to as "standard risk"), XIENCE V demonstrated a
one-year stent thrombosis rate of 0.34 percent per ARC definition of
definite/probable stent thrombosis.

"The low stent thrombosis rate demonstrated by XIENCE V is impressive
given the complexity of the patient population included in the XIENCE V USA
trial, and confirms that the stent thrombosis results seen with XIENCE V in
earlier randomized clinical trials are consistent in real-world clinical
practice," said James Hermiller, M.D., director of Cardiovascular
Interventions, St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, Ind., and principal
investigator of the XIENCE V USA trial.

The XIENCE V USA study also showed that stent thrombosis rates remained
low even when dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT) was temporarily or
permanently discontinued. In the overall XIENCE V USA population, patients
who interrupted DAPT usage after six months showed a subsequent late stent
thrombosis rate of zero percent. In the subset of standard risk patients,
those who interrupted DAPT usage after 30 days also showed a subsequent late
stent thrombosis rate of zero percent. DAPT compliance in the XIENCE V USA
study was 79.4 percent at one year.

XIENCE V USA is a post-market, single-arm registry evaluating outcomes in
5,054 XIENCE V patients based in the United States with follow-up out to five
years. The study is designed to examine the safety of the XIENCE V stent in
an all-comers patient population from real-world clinical settings. The
standard risk subset included 1,827 patients. The primary endpoint of XIENCE
V USA is a measure of stent thrombosis every year out to five years, as
defined by ARC. The ARC definitions of stent thrombosis were developed to
eliminate variability in the definitions across various drug eluting stent
trials. Mitch Krucoff, M.D., FACC, FCCP, director, Cardiovascular Devices
Unit, Duke Clinical Research Institute in Durham, N.C., is co-principal
investigator of the XIENCE V USA trial.

XIENCE V Superior to TAXUS in Primary Endpoint of SPIRIT V Diabetes Trial

Abbott also presented data today from the SPIRIT V Diabetes study, an
international randomized clinical trial comparing XIENCE V to the TAXUS(R)
Liberte(TM) Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent System (TAXUS) in 324 patients
with diabetes. In the trial's primary endpoint of in-stent late loss(1),
XIENCE V demonstrated superiority to TAXUS (0.19 mm for XIENCE V vs. 0.39 mm
for TAXUS; p=0.0001). In-stent late loss is a measure of vessel re-narrowing
after a stent procedure.

The SPIRIT V Diabetes trial also showed encouraging observational
evidence of low event rates for diabetic patients treated with XIENCE V
including:

    - In the composite endpoint of cardiac death, heart attack
      attributed to the treated vessel (target vessel myocardial infarction)
      and ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization (TLR), XIENCE V
      demonstrated an observed 10 percent reduction compared to TAXUS (11.2
      percent for XIENCE V vs. 12.5 percent for TAXUS, p-value=0.71*).
    - In the composite endpoint of cardiac death and target vessel
      myocardial infarction (MI), XIENCE V demonstrated an observed 61
      percent reduction compared to TAXUS (3.7 percent for XIENCE V vs. 9.6
      percent for TAXUS, p-value=0.04*).
    - In the endpoint of cardiac death, XIENCE V demonstrated an
      observed rate of 0.5 percent compared to 2.9 percent for TAXUS
      (p-value=0.10*).
    - In the endpoint of ischemia-driven TLR, XIENCE V demonstrated an
      observed rate of 8.4 percent compared to 3.8 percent for TAXUS
      (p-value=0.16*).
    - In the endpoint of target vessel MI, XIENCE V demonstrated an
      observed rate of 2.8 percent compared to 8.7 percent for TAXUS
      (p-value=0.04*)
    - In the endpoint of stent thrombosis, XIENCE V demonstrated zero
      cases of blood clots (ARC definite/probable stent thrombosis) at one
      year compared to 1.9 percent for TAXUS (p-value=0.11*).

The clinical outcomes from the SPIRIT V Diabetes trial are observational
as the trial was not powered to analyze statistical differences in any of the
clinical endpoints.

XIENCE V and Abbott's next-generation XIENCE PRIME(TM) Everolimus Eluting
Coronary Stent System are approved for the treatment of patients with
diabetes in CE Mark (Conformite Europeenne) countries. XIENCE PRIME is an
investigational device in the United States and is not available for sale.

About XIENCE V

Abbott's market-leading XIENCE V drug eluting stent is marketed in the
United States, Europe, Japan and other international markets.

Everolimus, developed by Novartis Pharma AG, is an anti-proliferative
drug licensed to Abbott by Novartis for use on its drug eluting stents.
Everolimus has been shown to inhibit in-stent neointimal growth in the
coronary vessels following stent implantation, due to its anti-proliferative
properties.

In the United States, XIENCE V is indicated for improving coronary
luminal diameter in patients with symptomatic heart disease due to de novo
native coronary artery lesions (lesions less than or equal to 28 mm) with
reference vessel diameters of 2.5 mm to 4.25 mm. Additional information about
XIENCE V, including important safety information, is available online at
www.xiencev.com or
www.abbottvascular.com/en_US/content/document/eIFU_XienceV.pdf.

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 (NYSE: ABT) 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) In the SPIRIT V Diabetes trial, the primary endpoint of in-stent late
loss was pre-specified for superiority testing.

* P-values are for descriptive purposes only.

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 of Abbott