ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abbott today announced its support for the PhRMA guidelines on Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) advertising. The new "Guiding Principles," which Abbott helped develop, were released today by PhRMA.

"As a company committed to patient care, we recognize that DTC advertising can be vital to our mission. We will follow PhRMA's principles to ensure that DTC advertising is educational and informative. We believe that the principles will encourage and enhance the relationship between patients and healthcare providers," said Abbott Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Miles D. White.

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals and medical products, including nutritionals, devices and diagnostics. The company employs more than 60,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries.

Abbott's news releases and other information are available on the company's Web site at http://www.abbott.com .

SOURCE  Abbott
    -0-                             08/02/2005
    /CONTACT:  Media, Catherine Bryan, +1-847-936-6722, or Financial
Community, John Thomas, +1-847-938-2655, both of Abbott/
    /Company News On-Call:  http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/110328.html /
    /Web site:  http://www.abbott.com /
    (ABT)

CO:  Abbott
ST:  Illinois
IN:  MTC HEA ADV
SU:

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3749 08/02/2005 15:31 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com