ABT · 8-K · 20260820PR099247

End-Market Demand Trends

ABBOTT LABORATORIES · 2026-08-20 · Importance 10 · Surprise 24

Approximately one in every 10 infants born in the United States is premature, according to the CDC. Demand for preterm formula is supported by insufficient supplies of mothers’ own milk and donor human milk for some premature infants. Abbott cited the continued necessity of cow’s-milk-based products, including Similac Special Care 24, for neonatal intensive care units nationwide. The company characterized preterm formula as an essential replacement product when parental or donor milk is unavailable, rather than a marginal supplement.

Key facts

• About 1 in every 10 infants born in the U.S. is premature, per the CDC (as cited in the press release). source
• The press release states that preterm infant formula is recommended when mother’s own milk is not available and pasteurized donor human milk is either not available or the family declines use, as confirmed earlier this year by the AAP. source
• In a brief filed on Aug. 7, 2026, to the U.S. Supreme Court, the AAP and several medical organizations wrote that 'Preterm infant formula is an indispensable component of neonatal medicine' (as cited in the press release). source
• The press release quotes the judge in the federal MDL, Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, saying cow’s-milk-based formulas, including Similac Special Care 24, will remain essential products until human-milk formula production is sufficient to eliminate shortfalls in all NICUs nationwide. source
• The press release states that the substantial verdicts already entered and the thousands of similar claims now pending pose a grave threat to the preterm formula supply (as asserted in a brief filed Aug. 7, 2026). source
• Abbott employed 122,000 colleagues who serve people in more than 160 countries (as stated in the About Abbott section). source