Abbott to resolve part of litigation in its specialty formulas for preterm infants

 

• Agreements will resolve the Gillcase and claims involving approximately 2,000 other individuals
• Abbott and the medical community stand by the safety of preterm infant formulas
• Regulators and medical professionals recognize that these products are safe and necessary, and there is no reliable scientific evidence that they cause necrotizing enterocolitis

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) has reached agreements with three law firms to resolve the Gill case and claims involving approximately 2,000 other individuals relating to the company's specialty formulas for preterm infants.

In July 2024, a St. Louis jury awarded the plaintiff in the Gill case $495 million in damages. Abbott appealed the verdict to the Missouri Court of Appeals in December 2024, but the appeal was denied. Rather than continuing to appeal or paying approximately $600 million, representing the Gilljudgment plus accrued interest to date, Abbott entered into agreements to resolve the Gill case as well as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) claims asserted on behalf of approximately 2,000 additional infants for an aggregate amount of approximately $670 million.

These agreements are a compromise of disputed claims and not in any way an admission of liability. Abbott stands by the safety of these products and the essential role they play in helping the medical community care for preterm infants. The Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, NEC Society, neonatologists and other medical professionals recognize that these products are safe and necessary, and that there is no reliable scientific evidence that they cause NEC.

The agreements follow a series of favorable rulings for preterm formula manufacturers in federal and state courts, including victories in all three federal Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) bellwether cases. In July 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a pretrial judgment for Abbott in the first federal MDL bellwether case involving the company's preterm infant formulas. In June 2026, the Illinois Appellate Court reversed a $60 million verdict against Mead Johnson, finding that the trial court failed to properly apply the learned intermediary doctrine governing a manufacturer's duty to warn, a defense relevant in a substantial number of cases. In March 2026, a Florida state court, applying the learned intermediary doctrine, also dismissed claims involving preterm infant formula.

While Abbott remains confident in the safety of these products and the science supporting them, the company believes these agreements are in its best long-term interest and represent a constructive step toward substantially resolving the overall litigation.

Following these agreements, there are roughly 1,700 lawsuits pending in federal and state courts involving claims on behalf of approximately 12,700 individual infants. That population includes claims on behalf of individuals who named both Abbott and Mead Johnson without identifying which manufacturer's formula was administered, individuals diagnosed with NEC before receiving any formula, individuals who were never diagnosed with NEC, and individuals who appear in multiple lawsuits in different jurisdictions. Abbott continues to work to identify and eliminate such claims and others like them.

https://abbott.mediaroom.com/2026-08-20-Abbott-reaches-agreements-to-resolve-a-portion-of-litigation-involving-its-specialty-formulas-for-preterm-infants