Abbott Laboratories plans to phase out by June 2003 all IV sets that contain or require needles, as part of the company's continued commitment to improving patient and health care worker safety. By no longer manufacturing and marketing these products, the company expects millions of needles to be eliminated from the U.S. health care system, further protecting health care workers against needlestick injury and blood exposure. Abbott will use a needle-free technology across its entire line of infusion therapy products.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 600,000 - 800,000 needlestick accidents occur each year among health care workers. These exposures can lead to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS. With the preliminary treatment cost for a single needlestick incident estimated between $500 and $3,000, the industry faces yearly treatment costs upwards of nearly one billion dollars.

"Needles cause needlesticks. If you eliminate the needles, you eliminate the risk," said John Arnott, vice president, hospital business sector, Hospital Products Division, Abbott Laboratories. "For more than four decades, health care workers had little, if any, needle-free alternatives. Today, new technology allows us to provide innovative products that offer protection against needlestick injuries."

In November 2000, the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act was signed into law. The Act mandates stricter Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards requiring hospitals to record and evaluate needlestick injuries. It also calls for hospitals to use medical devices such as Abbott's needleless or protected needle products to help reduce health care worker injuries and illnesses caused by needlesticks.

In early 2001, OSHA revised the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard - a directive that gives guidance to health care facilities regarding the implementation of safety standards for all workers exposed to bloodborne pathogens - to incorporate the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act. OSHA also mandated that all health care facilities covered under Federal OSHA law must become compliant with the new regulations. Finally, the directive expressed that all states with State OSHA plans must have enforceable state legislation passed, or must have incorporated the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act into their own State OSHA plans.

Abbott has been at the forefront of providing products that offer protection against needlestick injuries. The LifeShield CLAVE Connector provides easy needle-free access and convenient drug delivery that is fast and efficient. The unique design of the CLAVE will not accept sharps or blunts of any kind. Abbott markets these products as part of its Needlestick Prevention Systems (NPS) product line - a system of integrated, coordinated products, which includes LifeShield Prepierced Reseal and CLAVE connectors; LifeShield, Carpuject and Ansyr prefilled syringes; VanishPoint retractable syringes and blood collection devices; ADD-Vantage System for drug delivery; FirstChoice Premixes; and the CLC2000 needleless catheter patency device.