Abbott Labs Warns of Flawed Test Results
Abbott Laboratories last week sent a letter to thousands of doctors warning that results from one of its pregnancy tests could show flawed results and falsely suggest the presence of cancer.
The test measures a hormone that, when elevated, indicates early on that a woman is pregnant. Tests showing elevated levels of the hormone when a woman isn’t pregnant, though, may be evidence of a rare and deadly cancer of the placental tissue, doctors said. The Abbott test sometimes falsely indicates elevated levels of the hormone.
The letter, which the company sent the week of Nov. 5, comes after a Seattle jury in June said Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott and the University of Washington medical center must pay $16.2 million to a woman who was incorrectly diagnosed with cancer.
Abbott Labs rose 41 cents to $53.61 on the NYSE.
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