Abbott agrees to $670 million settlement over infant formula claims

Key facts

• Abbott has agreed to a $670 million settlement to resolve legal claims.
• The settlement addresses allegations of harm from Abbott's specialty formulas for preterm infants.
• Approximately 2,000 individuals are covered by the settlement.
• The agreement includes a previous jury verdict ordering Abbott to pay $495 million.
• The prior verdict found Abbott's infant formula caused necrotizing enterocolitis in a child.

Abbott Laboratories has agreed to a $670 million settlement to resolve legal claims from approximately 2,000 individuals who alleged harm related to the company's specialty formulas for preterm infants. The settlement includes a significant prior jury award of $495 million, where a jury found Abbott's infant formula caused necrotizing enterocolitis, a dangerous bowel disease, in an Illinois girl.

Abbott had been appealing the 2024 verdict to Missouri's Supreme Court. The company, which manufactures Similac formulas, faces similar lawsuits alongside Mead Johnson, a unit of Reckitt that produces Enfamil formulas. About 1,000 similar lawsuits have been filed, with over 800 cases centralized in an Illinois federal court and others pending in state courts across Illinois, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.

Necrotizing enterocolitis primarily affects premature newborns, leading to bowel tissue death and carrying a mortality rate exceeding 20%. Companies like Abbott and Mead Johnson have stated that while breast milk offers protection against the disease, their formulas do not cause it, and the benefits of breast milk have long been recognized by clinicians.