New Abbott GmbH & Co. KG

06-12-2001: The new company Abbott GmbH & Co. KG results from the fusion of Abbott GmbH, Wiesbaden and the German sections of BASF Pharma, Knoll GmbH and Knoll Deutschland GmbH, both Ludwigshafen, that Abbott Laboratories acquired on March 2 of this year.

The merging of the three companies Abbott GmbH, Wiesbaden, Knoll GmbH and Knoll Deutschland GmbH, both Ludwigshafen, will be announced to the employees of Abbott GmbH & Co. KG on December 4 and 5, 2001 at staff meetings in Ludwigshafen and Wiesbaden, respectively. The new organization of the German company within the global Abbott group will be presented at the staff meeting by Jeff Leiden, Executive Vice President, Pharmaceuticals and Chief Scientific Officer of Abbott Laboratories, Chicago (USA) and Bill Dempsey, the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board for Abbott GmbH & Co. KG and Senior Vice President, International Operations of Abbott Laboratories, Chicago (USA). The German Managers Dr. Heinz Kipper, General Manager of Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, and Dr. Dieter Wagner, Divisional Vice President and Executive for Labor Relations at Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, will explain the role of the newly merged company in Ludwigshafen and Wiesbaden, respectively.

The new company has around 3,450 employees, of which about 1,800 are based in Ludwigshafen, and 1,650 in Wiesbaden. Abbott GmbH & Co. KG will be run by 5 General Managers who will be responsible for the following operating divisions: Robert B. Hance, Abbott Diagnostics Division (ADD) - Vice President, Diagnostic Operations Europe, Middle East and Africa, responsible for all activities of the Diagnostics Division in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Dr. Heinz Kipper, Abbott International (AI) - General Manager, Commercial Operations AI, responsible for the Pharmaceutical, Hospital and Nutritional Products business. Dr. Kamlesh Kumar, Abbott Diagnostics Division (ADD) - General Manager ADD, responsible for the diagnostics business in Germany and Austria. Dr. Steffen Röllinger, Abbott Laboratories, Global Pharmaceutical Research Development (GPRD) - Divisional Vice President Ludwigshafen R & D Operations, responsible for the coordination of research and development in Ludwigshafen. Dr. Dieter Wagner, Abbott International (AI) - Divisional Vice President German Operations, is in charge of the Ludwigshafen site and also assumes the role of Executive for Labor Relations at Abbott GmbH & Co. KG.

Ludwigshafen is an important, integrated site within the Abbott pharmaceuticals organization, where production, research and development, sales and services will be conducted with a new profile and global, European and national responsibilities. Globally, Ludwigshafen R & D is the Center of Excellence for research for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. The global business unit Soliqs handles the development and production of improved drug forms for Abbott and third parties. Ludwigshafen is set to be one of Abbott's largest pharmaceutical plants outside the USA. Ludwigshafen will be the European center for clinical development, Phase IIIb/IV studies and the Center of Expertise for European Regulatory Affairs, as well as being responsible for various information technology and human resources aspects. Within Germany, Ludwigshafen will be the center for pharmaceuticals activities and the logistics center for Abbott's pharmaceutical and hospital products. Distribution of all Abbott pharmaceutical and hospital products in Germany has moved from Delkenheim to Ludwigshafen.

Wiesbaden-Delkenheim is the headquarters for all of Abbott's commercial activities in Germany, namely hospital and nutritional products as well as certain pharmaceutical and diagnostics units. Furthermore, Wiesbaden is home to the diagnostics business for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the diagnostics business for Germany and Austrian, product development and production as well as European logistics. Order Entry Management and the Accounts Receivable Department for Germany have moved from Ludwigshafen to Delkenheim.

The new company Abbott GmbH & Co. KG and its employees research, develop, manufacture and market innovative products and services encompassing the entire spectrum of medical care - from prevention to treatment and cure. A sales turnover of around Euro 1.4 billion is forecast for the coming year.