Abbott Labs to sell flu vaccine business acquired with Solvay? Hospira buy of Javelin to complete

Reports abounded yesterday speculating that US health care major Abbott Laboratories is exploring the sale of the vaccines operations is acquired along with its $6.2 billion purchase of Belgium's Solvay Pharmaceuticals, which was completed earlier this year (The Pharma Letter February 16).

The deal could fetch 500 million euros ($614 million), suggested the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the WSJ, Abbott launched an auction last week, sending marketing materials to a handful of large health care companies.

Commenting on the speculation, Hedwig Kresse, head of vaccines and infectious diseases at independent market analyst Datamonitor, said: 'Abbott's decision to sell off the company's flu vaccine business does not come as a surprise, as the company is a niche player without critical mass in the increasingly competitive seasonal flu vaccine market. The most attractive selling point is 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.'