Abbott Laboratories to Host Conference Call on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2003, To Discuss Today's FDA Early Approval for HUMIRA(TM) (adalimumab

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Dec. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott Laboratories will host a conference call on Thursday, Jan. 2, to discuss today's U.S. Food and Drug Administration's earlier than anticipated approval for Abbott to market HUMIRA(TM) (adalimumab), previously known as D2E7. Jeff Leiden, M.D., Ph.D., president and chief operating officer, Pharmaceutical Products Group, will participate on the call at 9 a.m., Central time.

A live webcast of the conference call will be accessible through Abbott's Investor Relations Web site at www.abbottinvestor.com . An archived edition of the call will be available after 11 a.m., Central time, on Thursday, Jan. 2.

Abbott Laboratories is a global, broad-based health care company devoted to the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of pharmaceuticals, nutritionals and medical products, including devices and diagnostics. The company employs approximately 70,000 people and markets its products in more than 130 countries. In 2001, the company's sales and net earnings were $16.3 billion and $2.9 billion, respectively, with diluted earnings per share of $1.88, excluding one-time charges.

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

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SOURCE Abbott Laboratories

-0- 12/31/2002

/CONTACT: Media, Melissa Brotz, +1-847-935-3456, or Kathleen Gilgunn, +1-847-938-3895, or Financial Community, John Thomas, +1-847-938-2655, all of Abbott Laboratories/

/Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/110328.html/