For more than 120 years, Abbott people have been driven by a constant goal: to advance medical science to help people live healthier lives.

The company was started in 1888 by Dr. Wallace Clive Abbott in Chicago and in 2007 Abbott celebrated 70 years in Australia.

Key milestones for Abbott, globally and in Australia and New Zealand:

• 1888 – Dr. Wallace C. Abbott, a practicing physician, begins manufacturing dosimetric granules. Dr. Abbott is one of the founders of modern pharmacy
• 1906 – To reach more physicians, Dr. Abbott establishes the company’s sales force
• 1916 – Abbott acquires its first synthetic medicine, an antiseptic agent called Chlorazene, which is used extensively on the battlefields of World War I to clean wounds
• 1929 – Abbott stock is listed on the Chicago Stock Exchange with an offering of 20,000 shares at $32 each
• 1932 – Abbott enters the field of nutrition with Haliver Oil and Viosterol, making it a leader in the new field of vitamins and beginning its leadership in the nutrition business.
• 1937 – Abbott Australia established in Sydney, NSW
• 1941 – Abbott New Zealand established in Wellington, NZ
• 1946 – Abbott is the first pharmaceutical company to have a special laboratory for radioactive pharmaceuticals, or “radiopharmaceuticals,” a move that leads to the creation of what will become the world’s leading immunodiagnostics business
• 1949 – Abbott introduces 74 new products in a single year, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and improved variations of existing products
• 1963 – Australian manufacturing and distribution operations move to Kurnell, NSW
• 1973 – The global Abbott Diagnostics Division is formed to bring together the company’s diagnostic products and services. Ensure, Abbott’s first adult medical nutritional, is introduced.
• 1985 – Abbott wins U.S. approval to market the world’s first diagnostic test for AIDS
• 1991 – Introduction of Lucrin, a treatment for prostate cancer
• 1993 – Introduction of Klacid, an antibiotic
• 1996 – Abbott awarded Australian Quality Award and National Safety Council of Australia Award of Excellence for Occupational Health and Safety Management
• 1996 – Introduction of Sevoflurane, an anaesthetic product, and Norvir, an HIV treatment
• 1999 – Introduction of Synagis, a neonatology product
• 2001 – Introduction of Kaletra, an HIV treatment
• 2003 – Abbott joined the National Packaging Covenant; Introduction of HUMIRA, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis
• 2004 – Abbott’s Pharmaceutical and Nutrition businesses relocated to Botany site
• 2005 – Abbott achieves Class A accreditation by the Oliver Wight Group; HUMIRA receives additional registration for psoriatic arthritis
• 2006 – HUMIRA receives additional registration for ankylosing spondylitis
• 2007 – Abbott products are listed on National Product Catalogue; Introduction of Zemplar, a renal care product; HUMIRA receives additional registration for Crohn’s disease
• 2008 – HUMIRA receives additional registration for psoriasis

For more information on Abbott’s journey since 1888, click here