Drug maker’s profit rises

Friday, July 9, 2004 | 9:08 a.m.

ABBOTT PARK, Ill. -- Abbott Laboratories, which makes diagnostic tests and Biaxin antibiotics, today said second-quarter profit rose to $634.9 million, helped by surging sales of its new rheumatoid-arthritis treatment Humira.

Profit from continuing operations climbed to 40 cents a share from $179.1 million, or 11 cents, a year earlier, when a legal settlement reduced results by 34 cents a share, the Abbott Park, Ill.-based company said in a statement.

Demand for Humira, Abbott's fastest growing drug, contributed to a 14 percent gain in revenue to $4.7 billion. Abbott raised its 2004 sales forecast for Humira today by $100 million, or 14 percent. Chief Executive Miles White spun off a slow-growing hospital-products unit in April and is expanding in drugs and medical tests, which generate higher profits.

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