Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) will donate more than $3 million to the victims of last week’s disastrous earthquake in Japan through its philanthropic foundation, the company said today.
Abbott Park, Ill.-based Abbott is one of the most active medical device companies in Japan, with more than 2,400 employees based in Tokyo, Fukui and Chiba. In 2010, Abbott reported more than $2 billion in sales in Japan, and has grown its business there by 60 percent in the past three years, according to regulatory filings.
How Japan’s 8.9-level earthquake affects the medical device industry
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan,” Abbott CEO Miles White said in a prepared statement. “Abbott and the Abbott Fund are providing this support to help advance immediate relief efforts.”
In other earthquake relief news, Amgen (NSDQ:AMGN) said it would be donating $1 million to Direct Relief International and International Medical Corps to, “bring basic needs and vital health services to those affected in Japan.”
Those donations come just one day after Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) pledged $1 million in cash and medical supplies to assist in relief efforts.
On March 11, the largest temblor in Japanese recorded history struck the nation’s eastern coast. The quake, which measured 8.9 on the Richter scale, then caused a 23-foot tsunami in a cruel 1-2 punch that left millions without adequate food or fuel in sub-zero weather. Officials fear the death toll will reach 10,000. Since the quake, a series powerful aftershocks — some as powerful as a major temblor on their own — have been felt throughout the nation.
Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, is also a critical player in the global medical device market, ranking just behind the U.S. and the European Union in terms of market size at just under $25 billion. That’s about half of the total Asia-Pacific medical device market, pegged at $55 billion by Pacific Bridge Medical, a Bethesda, Md.-based regulatory consulting firm that specializes in the region.*
American medical device and diagnostic companies employ more than 13,000 workers in Japan, according to the Advanced Medical Technology Assn.
*Eds. note: Pacific Bridge Medical is a MassDevice sponsor. Return.
