Abbott Broke Rules at Plant, FDA Says

Abbott Laboratories Inc. didn’t follow some manufacturing rules at an Austin, Texas, plant that makes drugs and hospital products, the Food and Drug Administration said in an Oct. 15 letter to the company.

An August inspection of the factory turned up problems, including failure to follow written procedures, the FDA said in a letter posted on its Web site. Abbott’s plans to correct the problems weren’t adequate, the letter said.

The company is assessing its procedures to address the issues brought up in the regulators’ letter, an Abbott spokeswoman said.

Shares of Abbott Laboratories fell 71 cents to $41.87 on the NYSE.