Abbott gains leadership in the $5.5 billion point of care segment, broadens diagnostics footprint and enhances access to fast-growing diagnostics channels

- Transaction expected to be immediately accretive to Abbott's ongoing earnings per share upon close
- Acquisition will provide access to new product applications, channels and geographies
- Alere's complementary technologies will help Abbott provide better care for patients by meeting the growing demand for fast, accurate and actionable medical information

Alere Inc. (NYSE: ALR) announced today that it has been awarded a grant of up to $21.6 million and debt financing of up to $20.6 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The $21.6 million grant will fund the development of a tuberculosis assay, which will be designed for use in both resource-constrained and well-resourced settings. It will also support the company's efforts to incorporate one of its isothermal amplification technologies for TB detection onto the Alere™ Q, a compact, portable, and robust device intended for molecular testing at the point of care. In addition, the Gates Foundation will provide below-market loans of up to $20.6 million for the expansion and scale up of Alere's manufacturing facilities in Jena, Germany for both the POC TB Nucleic Acid Test and the POC HIV Viral Load Test currently in the final stages of development. The Gates Foundation will provide these loans in exchange for commitments from Alere to make these diagnostics available at an affordable price to people in need in developing countries.