Abbott Laboratories, a renowned medical company, experienced a significant decline in the sales of its COVID-19 tests during the second quarter of this year, dropping by a stunning 89% compared to the same period last year. This remarkable decrease coincides with the world’s efforts to move forward from the pandemic.
Located in the northern suburb of Chicago, Abbott is the manufacturer of the once-popular BinaxNOW rapid, at-home COVID-19 test. In the months from April to June, the company generated $263 million in sales from COVID-19 tests, a substantial decrease from the $2.3 billion achieved during the same timeframe in the previous year.
Despite this decline, Abbott’s leadership reassured investors during an earnings call on Thursday morning that the overall business remains strong and this decrease was anticipated.
The drop in sales can be attributed to the lifting of federal and state public health emergencies related to COVID-19, which took effect on May 11. Consequently, health insurance coverage of at-home COVID-19 tests is no longer mandatory. Many individuals stocked up on these tests when they were available at no cost. Abbott offers a diverse range of medical tests, devices, and infant formula, among other products. Overall, organic sales decreased by 9.2% in the second quarter when including COVID-19 testing sales. However, excluding COVID-19 testing, overall sales experienced a robust growth rate of 11.5% in the quarter.
During the quarter, Abbott achieved a noteworthy $10 billion in sales.
Robert Ford, the chairman and CEO of Abbott, highlighted their confidence in the company’s strength beyond the COVID-19 era, stating, “We always said … when COVID would subside we would have a strong base business … and I think that’s what you’re seeing right now play out these last couple of quarters and what we think is going to continue to play out throughout the rest of the year and going into 2024.”
On a positive note, Abbott witnessed growth in the sales of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and nutrition products. The company has recovered approximately 75% of the market share in infant formula that was lost last year due to a recall of formulas manufactured at its Michigan plant. The closure of the facility and the recall were initiated in response to reported cases of Cronobacter sakazakii infections in infants who consumed formula from the plant. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted a thorough investigation and concluded that it could neither confirm nor exclude a connection between infant deaths and Abbott’s formula.
Abbott’s leadership has expressed apologies for the role the company played in the national shortage of infant formula. Earlier this year, it was reported that the U.S. Department of Justice was conducting a criminal investigation into the plant’s operations.
©2023 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
