Abbott Labs gives up on vaccines unit sale, as no adequate bidders in sight; heart risks reported with obesity drug Meridia

US health care major Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) has apparently given up its attempt to divest the vaccines business that it acquired along with its $6.2 billion buy of Belgian drugmaker Solvay that was conclude in February this year.

Back in June, the US firm indicated that it was exploring a sale of the business (The Pharma Letter June 30), in a deal that was projected by observers could generate a payment of some 500 million euros ($643 million). Solvay's vaccine sales exceeded $197 million last year. The most attractive selling point was seen as Abbott's established position in the lucrative Russian influenza vaccine market through its alliance with Petrovax Pharm, which could gain a potential buyer easy access to one of the key emerging markets for vaccines. Companies that could want to acquire this business were said to include UK-based GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca, as well as Switzerland's Novartis.

However, according to several media reports, Abbott has not received any offers that would satisfy its requirements. "We explored the option to potentially sell the business and determined it was in the best interest of Abbott and the vaccines business to retain it and integrate it into the company," said Abbott spokesman Scott Stoffell, quoted by the Associated Press.