Abbott Diagnostics History at a Glance
The history of Abbott's Diagnostics Division is an impressive record of innovation. Abbott products have helped transform the practice of medical diagnosis from an art to a science, virtually creating the modern diagnostics industry through the company's commitment to improving patient care and lowering overall costs. Abbott's history is filled with examples of first-of-a-kind products and significant technological advancements.This tradition of innovation has been sustained through a consistent commitment to diagnostic research and development.
1972
Abbott's first hepatitis test, called the Ausria-125, was introduced in 1972. At the time in the United States, approximately 30 thousand people per year contracted serum hepatitis, and in 1,500 to 3,000 of these cases the infection was fatal. Although there were hepatitis tests available, none of them had the sensitivity to detect infection with enough certainty. Ausria offered that sensitivity, and soon more than 70 percent of all blood drawn in the United States was tested with this assay.
1974
Abbott introduces Ausria II, an improved hepatitis test that allows hospitals and blood banks, for the first time, to supply blood for transfusion the same day it is drawn. Abbott also introduces a non-radioactive hepatitis screening test called Auscell, making hepatitis screening economical for even the smallest blood bank.
1978
Abbott introduces the first commercial product for the diagnosis of hepatitis A.
1979
Abbott introduces the Quantum II, an automated immunoassay system which employs a new enzyme immunoassay (EIA) technology. The extended shelf life and reduced batch costs of EIA testing make immunoassays economically available to a much wider range of hospital and clinical laboratories.
1981
Abbott introduces the TDx system, which incorporates the first commercial application of fluorescence polarization.
1985
Abbott develops the first diagnostic test to screen blood and blood products for HIV.
1986
Abbott develops TestPack, a self contained diagnostic test that allows doctors to perform sophisticated immunoassay tests while the patient is in the doctor's office.
1988
Abbott introduces IMx, an automated immunoassay system that improves laboratory turnaround and efficiency by several orders of magnitude.
1991
Abbott develops the first automated test for monitoring prostate specific antigen (PSA), a tool for managing therapy for prostate cancer.
1992
Abbott enters the hematology market with the acquisition of Sequoia Turner Corporation
1994
Abbott launches AxSYM, a system that combines the technologies employed in the IMx and TDx systems in a single system.
1995
Abbott develops ABBOTT PRISM, the first fully automated system for high-volume blood screening laboratories.
1996
Abbott enters the glucose monitoring market with the acquisition of MediSense, Inc.
1997
Abbott launches the first combination test to screen blood for HTLV-I and HTLV-II, retroviruses implicated in a rare form of cancer and in some neurological diseases.
1998
Abbott launches an unprecedented number of new systems, including Alcyon and Aeroset, two innovative clinical chemistry analyzers and Determine, a line of self-performing assays targeted to emerging health care markets. The company also broadens its product offering with the acquisition of International Murex Technologies Corp., adding microtiter-based immunoassays and microbiology products.
1999
Abbott introduces the ARCHITECT i2000, the first in a planned series of analyzers designed to bring unprecedented flexibility to the clinical lab.
2001
Abbott launches the Precision Xtra, the first personal blood glucose monitor to offer ketone testing capability, and receives FDA marketing clearance for Sof-Tact, the first fully automated blood glucose monitor to offer lancing, blood collection and glucose testing with a single press of a button.
2001
Abbott acquires Vysis, Inc., a leading genomic disease management company that develops and markets clinical laboratory products, which provide information critical to the evaluation and management of cancer, prenatal disorders and other genetic diseases.
2004
The first "Architour" traveling demonstration lab toured 105 cities across the U.S. The customized semi-trailer provided laboratory professionals with the opportunity to see an ARCHITECT ci8200 Immunochemistry system, learn about new products and review testing menus for other Abbott diagnostic systems. The Architour also was a part of the Abbott booth at the American Association of Clinical Chemistry annual meeting.
2005
CELL-DYN Sapphire, an automated, high-volume hematology instrument was introduced. The Sapphire instrument is designed to minimize maintenance and reduce manual reviews of complex patient samples.
Abbott participates in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts by re-purposing our Architour trucks to become mobile operational labs.
Expansion of manufacturing capacity took place at several UK locations including Dartford, England, Sligo and Longford, Ireland, and Delkenheim, Germany. The new and expanded sites help Abbott to meet the increasing global demand for diagnostic testing in areas such as infectious disease, cancer, thyroid and cardiovascular.
ABBOTT PRISM, a fully automated, high volume blood-screening analyzer launches in the U.S. ABBOTT PRISM automates testing procedures and monitoring of assay processing steps, to reduce the potential for errors associated with manual processing steps. In addition, the ABBOTT PRISM increases through-put, while reducing the number of failed runs due to human error.
March 2 marks the 20th anniversary of Abbott's commercial test to screen blood for HIV – the world's first licensed test to detect the AIDS virus in the early days of the epidemic. "This test is ... the answer to the prayers of thousands," said then U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler, who announced the approval. With a special task force of 40 Abbott employees working around the clock, it took Abbott only eight months to develop the test, called Abbott HTLV-III EIA, and produce enough to begin to satisfy world demand.
2006
Abbott Diagnostics introduced Labs Are Vital™, a multi-year global program to strengthen the clinical laboratory and it's professionals. To date, more than 30 professional associations have aligned with Labs Are Vital, including the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC).
Abbott announces approval of first fully-automated blood screening tests for Hepatitis B surface antigen for its ABBOTT PRISM® Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and its PRISM® HBsAg Confirmatory test.
Abbott launches the automated, mid-volume analyzer CELL-DYN RUBY™ hematology instrument. With its advanced laser optics, this instrument offers enhanced cellular analysis and greater efficiency for laboratories performing complete blood counts (CBCs), a test routinely ordered by doctors to assess a patient's overall health and to screen for a variety of disorders such as anemia and infection.
2007
Abbott launches ARCHITECT® c16000® and ARCHITECT® ci16200® to expand Abbott's premier Immunoassay and Clinical Chemistry platform for large-Volume needs.
Abbott receives FDA approval for automated Hepatitis B test for use on ARCHITECT® immunoassay analyzers. ARCHITECT CORE-M (anti-HBc IgM) is a qualitative assay for the detection of Immunogobulin (IgM) antibodies to Hepatitis B core antigen virus. A test for anti-HBc IgM aids in the laboratory diagnosis of acute or recent hepatitis B viral infection.
2008
Abbott announced approval of first fully automated blood screening test for HTLV-I/HTLV-II for use on the ABBOTT PRISM instrument. The test is intended for use by laboratories to screen individual donations of blood and plasma for antibodies to human T -- lymphotropic virus Type I and/or human T -- lymphotropic virus Type II (anti-HTLV-I/HTLV-II).
Abbott launched the ARCHITECT® i1000SR® immunochemistry analyzer, expanding its ARCHITECT family of diagnostics instrument systems for clinical laboratories Designed for labs that typically perform less than 200 immunoassay tests per day, the instrument addresses many of the workflow challenges common in today’s laboratories.