International
Abbott Marks 40 Years of Hepatitis Leadership
February 2012
Forty years ago, Hewlett-Packard introduced the first scientific hand-held calculator. The European Airbus took its first flight. The Volkswagen Beetle became the world's best-selling car. Nike athletic shoes hit the market. And Abbott put our hepatitis testing on the map.
Looking back to 1972, hepatitis B was one of the most common communicable diseases in the United States. Upon its introduction,Abbott's AUSRIA-125 assay was hailed as the most effective test to diagnose and screen donated blood for hepatitis B. Within one year, AUSRIA was being used to test more than 70 percent of blood drawn in the United States and was being adopted by blood banks in Europe and Asia. Abbott scientists Doctors Richard Decker, Chung-Mei Ling, and Lacy Overby were primarily responsible for the new assay.
For four decades, Abbott has continued to serve hepatitis patients and customers. Our innovations have included several assays for both acute and chronic hepatitis A, B, and C on our fully-automated AxSYM, ARCHITECT, and PRISM platforms. Today, as 500 million people worldwide are living with chronic hepatitis, Abbott remains steadfast in our commitment to fighting the disease.
