Abbott Completes Acquisition of Kos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

    ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abbott (NYSE:   ABT)
 announced today that it has acquired 100 percent of the outstanding shares
 of Kos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. As previously announced, at the conclusion of
 its successful tender offer on Dec. 12, 2006, Abbott owned approximately
 91.4 percent of Kos' shares (including shares acquired in a concurrent
 transaction). As the final step in the acquisition process, Kos has been
 acquired as a wholly owned subsidiary of Abbott.
     The acquisition of Kos broadens Abbott's portfolio of products for
 lipid management -- the world's largest pharmaceutical segment -- and
 brings a rich pipeline of near- and mid-term opportunities in lipid
 management, diabetes care and asthma. Kos is a specialty pharmaceutical
 company that develops and markets proprietary medications for the treatment
 of chronic cardiovascular, metabolic and respiratory diseases.
     "We can now serve patients and doctors better, because we can offer
 them a broad range of therapies for cholesterol and lipid management," said
 Miles D. White, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "We very much
 admire the business that Kos built and grew over the past several years.
 It's an excellent strategic fit for Abbott, and we're enthusiastic about
 the commercial and R&D opportunities our combined organization now offers."
     About Abbott
     Abbott 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 65,000 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 http://www.abbott.com .
                A Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
     Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements.
 Abbott cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks
 and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from
 those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Economic, competitive,
 governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott's
 operations are discussed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," and Exhibit 99.1 to
 our Annual Report on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K for the
 year ended Dec. 31, 2005, and in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," to our Quarterly
 Report on Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-Q for the period ended
 March 31, 2006, and are incorporated by reference. Abbott undertakes no
 obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements
 as the result of subsequent events or developments, other than as required
 by law.
 
 

SOURCE Abbott