Abbott wins award for Architect HIV assay

Abbott has been presented with a prestigious industry accolade in honour of its innovative Architect HIV Ag/Ab Combo assay.

The company has won a 2010 Chicago Innovation Award for its versatile new device, which was deemed to represent a product that fulfils an unmet need and can potentially change lives.

Abbott's new assay is the first to be designed to simultaneously detect both HIV antigens and antibodies, which reduces the likelihood of symptoms being missed and helps to provide early HIV diagnoses.

It is the fifth time the company has won this award in the last seven years, having most recently been honoured for its Xience V everolimus-eluting coronary stent system in 2008.

Edward Michael, executive vice-president for diagnostic products at Abbott, said: "Receiving the Chicago Innovation Award is a great testament to Abbott's constant pursuit of innovation, which is driven by the search for meaningful solutions … for the patients who rely on us."

Last month, the company published its financial report for the third quarter of 2010, a period which saw the firm experience an 11.8 percent year-on-year global sales increase.