LONG-TERM AGREEMENT BETWEEN SANQUIN, A LEADER IN BLOOD SERVICES, AND ABBOTT, A GLOBAL LEADER IN TRANSFUSION MEDICINE, HELPS ENSURE A SAFE AND EFFICIENT BLOOD SUPPLY IN THE NETHERLANDS

AMSTERDAM, April 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanquin and Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that they signed a multiple-year contract for the supply of primary serological equipment and consumables, including Abbott's Alinity™ s system, for blood and plasma screening.ⁱ This agreement extends Abbott and Sanquin's long-standing relationship of more than 10 years.

"We conducted an evaluation of multiple potential solutions across numerous parameters to quantify the total value of ownership among screening platforms," said Anton van Weert, Ph.D., M.B.A., Manager Sanquin Donor Screening and Infectious Disease Diagnostics, Amsterdam. Operational aspects were evaluated by the team of Ed Bakker, Head Infectious diseases of the National Screening laboratory Sanquin. "When we tested the Alinity s solution, we observed clear differentiation in assay performance, footprint efficiency, and ease of use that will help us further optimize our laboratory operations," said Bakker.

In a testing specialty that can require extensive hands-on time, the innovative automation and flexibility of the Alinity s platform will help Sanquin increase efficiency while maintaining the high levels of accuracy for blood and plasma screening. "Importantly, the high specificity of the assays for donor screening further minimizes the unnecessary disposal of blood and plasma units given voluntarily by our donors," van Weert added. The Alinity s solution is purpose-built to meet the accuracy and efficiency needs of blood and plasma screening customers around the world. Sanquin provided significant but independent input into the design of the Alinity s system and served as a clinical testing site during the development process.

"Abbott is excited to expand our partnership with Sanquin, a global leader in blood and plasma screening," said Louis Morrone, vice president, Transfusion Medicine, Abbott. "The Alinity s solution builds on Abbott's legacy of life-changing technology to ensure safe blood products are available to patients."

About Sanquin
Sanquin is responsible for safe and efficient blood supply in the Netherlands on a not-for-profit basis. Sanquin also develops and produces pharmaceutical products, conducts high-quality scientific research, and develops and performs a multitude of diagnostic services.

About Alinity
Abbott's Alinity family of harmonized solutions is unprecedented in the diagnostics industry, working together to address the challenges of using multiple diagnostic platforms and simplifying diagnostic testing. Alinity systems are designed to be more efficient – running more tests in less space, generating test results faster and minimizing human errors – while continuing to provide quality results.

The Alinity portfolio includes clinical chemistry, immunoassay, blood and plasma screening, point of care, hematology and molecular diagnostics, along with Abbott's AlinIQ—a first-of-its-kind, holistic suite of professional services that combines expertise with process analysis and informatics. Alinity is helping labs and hospital systems solve some of their most pressing challenges to deliver better patient care with fewer resources. The availability of the Alinity systems and tests varies by geography. More information is available at abbott.com/alinity.

About Abbott
Abbott is a global healthcare company devoted to improving life through the development of products and technologies that span the breadth of healthcare. With a portfolio of leading, science-based offerings in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic pharmaceuticals, Abbott serves people in more than 150 countries and employs approximately 99,000 people.

Visit Abbott at www.abbott.com and connect with us on Twitter at @AbbottNews.

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i} The Alinity s system for blood and plasma screening is CE marked and available in select markets; this system is not cleared for use in the United States.

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SOURCE Abbott