Abbott’s 4th quarter revenues up 42%
Abbott announced on Jan. 24 worldwide sales of $7.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, a 42.3 percent growth year over year.
The company also reported a comparable operational sales growth of 7.7 percent, including prior-year results from St. Jude Medical, which Abbott acquired in January 2017.
"2017 was a great year for us—we performed well, our new product pipeline was highly productive and we took some very important strategic steps forward," chairman and CEO Miles D. White said in a press release. "We're entering 2018 with very good momentum."
Abbott touted regulatory approvals for several of its products during the quarter. In October, it received FDA clearance for the smartphone-compatible Confirm RX Insertable Cardiac Monitor, which aids in the detection of arrhythmias. Also that month, the newest generation of the XIENCE everolimus-eluting coronary stent system gained CE mark approval.
The FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system—which eliminates the need for diabetics to prick their fingers to test glucose—was launched in the U.S. in November and approved for Medicare patients in January.
Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.