Pharmaceutical Research & Development

Abbott’s mission in pharmaceuticals is to create a top-tier global business capable of consistently discovering, developing and marketing innovative medicines to improve patient health. Pharmaceutical research and development operations are headquartered in Illinois, with a number of additional centers around the world.

Abbott focuses pharmaceutical research in a limited number of key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, anti-infectives and virology, and metabolics. These areas have been prioritized because they represent areas of significant unmet medical need and scientific opportunity, and they align well with our scientific expertise. Focusing on key therapeutic areas, increasing R&D investment and applying advanced technologies allows us to continually enhance processes and increase efficiencies to react to new evolving scientific strategies, as well as market forces, so that the group is positioned for success.

Canadian clinicians and scientists have made significant contributions to the development of Abbott’s products, particularly in the areas of immunology, oncology, anti-infectives and virology, and metabolics.

Advanced Technologies

Effective research begins with developing our technological tools that help provide the most opportunities for improving patient health. Our discovery scientists use advanced technologies to identify disease-related target molecules, and to identify and refine drug candidates that act against those targets. Some of our recent advancements are dramatically increasing the number of available drug candidates and the rate at which they can be screened for therapeutic potential. Several of the technologies, developed internally by Abbott scientists, are driving this productivity. These technologies help set the industry standard, are widely licensed and have a global impact on discovery science.

For more information, please visit the Abbott Global Web site.