The company was founded by Chicago physician Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 to formulate known drugs; today, it sells medical devices, diagnostics, branded generic medicines and nutritional products.

[4][5] Abbott's products include Pedialyte, Similac, BinaxNOW, Ensure, Glucerna, ZonePerfect, FreeStyle Libre, i-STAT and MitraClip.

His innovation was formulating the active part of alkaloid medicinal plants—morphine, quinine, strychnine and codeine—as tiny "dosimetric granules", producing more consistent and effective dosages for patients than the liquid preparations previously used, which deteriorated over time.

In the years following the acquisition, Pedialyte and Ensure were introduced as nutritional products by Ross Laboratories while under Abbott's leadership.

[citation needed] According to Harvard professor Lester Grinspoon and Peter Hedblom, "In 1966 Abbott Laboratories sold the equivalent of two million doses of methamphetamine in powder form to a Long Island criminal dealer".

[12] In 1985, Abbott partnered with the Japanese company Taisho Pharmaceutical for the international rights to clarithromycin, a second-generation macrolide antibiotic, and gained FDA approval for the drug under the brand name Biaxin in October 1991.

[citation needed] Abbott obtained CE Mark for the device which now makes it possible to implant it in Europe outside of a clinical setting.

[53] In August 2018, Reuters reported that Abbott Laboratories was among the top five companies for branded generic drugs in Russia.

[54] In November 2018, Abbott received United States FDA clearance for FreeStyle LibreLink, a glucose reader smartphone app.

[64][65] In August 2020, Abbott received EUA from the FDA for its credit-card-sized $5, 15-minute, portable COVID-19 antigen test, BinaxNOW, compatible with the NAVICA mobile app.

[72] In January 2022, Abbott introduced Lingo, a line of consumer biowearable sensors that collects a range of biological readings to optimize exercise and nutrition regimens.

[74] In August 2022, Abbott received FDA approval for Proclaim Plus, a multi-use spinal cord stimulation system designed to target chronic pain.

[76] On July 5, 2023, Abbott received approval from the FDA for its leadless pacemaker system Aveir DR.[77] In August, the company announced it would acquire Bigfoot Biomedical.

[83] These accounts listed ALVE's registered office as the address of Ireland's largest tax-law firm, Matheson, who have been identified with Double Irish tax structures for Microsoft and Google.

[83][84] In September 2021, the Irish Times reported that Abbott was using the Single Malt tax tool to shield profits on its COVID-19 testing kits.

[85][86] Abbott's core businesses focus on diagnostics, medical devices, branded generic medicines and nutritional products, which have been supplemented through acquisitions.

[38] In 1996, Robert B. Ford joined Abbott, holding various positions including executive vice president of the company's medical device business.

Between 2010 and 2013, the FDA updated the Lupron drug label to include new safety information on the risk of thromboembolism, loss of bone density and convulsions.

[114] In March 2003, British company Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT) stated its wish to "initiate discussions regarding the applicability of the royalty offset provisions for Humira" (Adalimumab) with Abbott Laboratories in the High Court of London.

[115] Abbott was required to pay CAT US$255 million in lieu of royalties the MRC, the Scripps Research Institute and Stratagene would have received on sales of Humira after December 2004.

[116] In October 2003, Abbott Laboratories and two of its units agreed to pay a total of $600 million in the first combined civil settlement and criminal conviction for offering kickbacks to agents of "Operations Headwaters", an undercover investigation by the FBI.

[119][120] Following Abbott's spinoff of its research-based pharmaceuticals business, it no longer owns the commercial rights and associated responsibilities for Humira and Depakote.

[121] In 2021, two of Abbott Laboratories' subsidiaries, Arriva Medical LLC and Alere Inc, had to pay $160m to resolve claims that they had fraudulently billed Medicare for glucose monitors.

The US Department of Justice said that Arriva used free glucose monitors to induce patients to order more consumable supplies, then took kickbacks on the increased sales.

[123] In February 2022, Abbott recalled baby formulas from the market and shut down their Michigan plant after complaints of illness and death in infants caused by serious bacterial infections.

[124][125][126][127] On July 18, 2023, Abbott recalled its Proclaim and Infinity IPGs due to complaints from patients who are unable to exit MRI mode.