ILLINOIS NEWS

Abbott abandons plans to sell vaccines business
September 03, 2010 10:36 EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) --

Drug and medical device firm Abbott Laboratories says it has abandoned plans to sell its vaccines unit, less than three months after exploring sales talks with rival companies.

North Chicago-based Abbott acquired the unit as part of its $6.2 billion purchase of Belgium-based Solvay Pharmaceuticals in February. Company spokesman Scott Stoffell said: "We explored the option to potentially sell the business and determined it was in the best interest of Abbott and the vaccines business to retain it and integrate it into the company."

Analysts speculated that European vaccine powerhouses like GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Novartis would have been interested in the business.

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