Abbott Faces Lawsuit Over Flawed Test Kits

A Seattle law firm said it filed a lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories Inc. alleging that test kits made by the health-care company were flawed and caused thousands of women to have unnecessary cancer treatments and hysterectomies. Two weeks ago, Abbott agreed to pay the federal government a record $100 million and stop making almost 300 medical tests to resolve allegations it did not follow good manufacturing practices at its Lake County, Ill., facilities. The Food and Drug Administration said Abbott had failed to comply with its manufacturing regulations at those plants over six years despite warnings. At issue in the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Northern Illinois is Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott’s hCG test used in hospital and private laboratories. It measures blood levels of human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG, a hormone that is elevated during pregnancy and when a non-pregnant woman has a form of cancer called trophoblast disease. Steve Berman, the attorney who filed the suit, said a study showed the Abbott test created an unacceptably high number of so-called false positive results compared with 10 other tests. Abbott spokeswoman Rhonda Luniak said, “This litigation is baseless and irresponsible and engenders unnecessary anxiety among thousands of women.” The suit seeks class-action status. Abbott shares rose $1.31 to close at $37.94 on the NYSE.