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The deal covers about 2,000 claims, including a $495 million jury verdict against Abbott that had been upheld on appeal
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Abbott $ABT agreed to pay $670 million on Thursday to resolve roughly 2,000 claims tied to its specialty formulas for premature infants, including one case in which a jury had ordered the company to pay $495 million in damages, according to Reuters.
The settlement was reached with three law firms whose clients alleged that Abbott's cow's milk-based formulas, designed for hospital use, caused necrotizing enterocolitis, a bowel disease that primarily affects premature newborns and carries an estimated mortality rate above 20%. Abbott denied wrongdoing and expressed continued confidence in its products' safety, with a company statement framing the agreement as a move toward winding down the broader litigation.
