ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Oct. 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT), a global healthcare leader focused on creating life-changing technologies that help people lead fuller and healthier lives, has received the 2020 Prix Galien USA Award for Best Medical Technology for its MitraClip™ System, the world's leading minimally invasive mitral valve repair device. The award recognizes excellence in scientific innovation that improves the state of humankind. MitraClip was selected from a field of 17 other medical technology nominees. This is the second year in a row that an Abbott medical device has been awarded the top prize by Prix Galien – Abbott's FreeStyle Libre 14 day system, the world-leading¹ continuous glucose monitoring technology for people with diabetes, received the award for Best Medical Technology in 2019.

"MitraClip is a first-of-its-kind, life-saving device that has transformed the lives of more than 100,000 people living with leaky mitral valves, many of whom were not treatable with open-heart mitral valve surgery – leaving them with few to no options," said Michael Dale, senior vice president of Abbott's structural heart business. "We are honored by this prestigious recognition by the Galien Foundation – a testament to our relentless pursuit to develop innovative treatment options for people living with structural heart conditions that allow them to live better, healthier lives."  

The Prix Galien award for MitraClip is one of several recent recognitions for Abbott:

• Abbott's newest rapid COVID-19 test, BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card, was recognized as a top innovation by the Chicago Innovation Awards and Abbott's ID NOW™ COVID-19 rapid molecular test was recognized by ChicagoInno as a 2020 Inno on Fire winner.
• Abbott's smaller-than-a-pea, innovative device, Amplatzer Piccolo™ Occluder, which treats preemie and newborn babies with an opening in their hearts, received an Edison Award for its human-centered design in prenatal and infant care, and was also recognized in the R&D 100 Awards, which highlights the most prestigious innovations and revolutionary advancements in science and technology.
• Abbott was recognized as Fast Company's "World Changing Company of the Year" for its Piccolo innovation, its work advancing the careers of underrepresented people in STEM, initiatives to fight malaria around the world, and for the company's COVID-19 tests.
• Abbott was also named to Fortune's 2020 "Change the World" list for expanding access to quality primary care and diagnostic testing in Rwanda, and for advancing innovative testing to confront the COVID-19 pandemic.

About MitraClip:

Backed by more than 16 years of clinical experience and proven safety, effectiveness and durability of clinical outcomes, MitraClip is a small, clip-like device that repairs both primary and secondary mitral regurgitation (MR) without the need for open-heart surgery. The proven safe, minimally invasive procedure restores proper functioning of the mitral valve and provides almost immediate symptom relief. MitraClip patients are generally discharged from the hospital within two days, allowing them to return to their regular lives much faster than open-heart surgery. MitraClip is approved in more than 75 countries worldwide, spanning regions in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australia.

For more information on MitraClip, visit: www.structuralheartsolutions.com. 

For U.S. important safety information on MitraClip™, visit http://abbo.tt/MitraClipG4ISI. 

For U.S. important safety information on the FreeStyle Libre portfolio, visit https://www.freestylelibre.us/safety-information.html.

For U.S. important safety information on Amplatzer Piccolo™ Occluder, visit https://www.structuralheartsolutions.com/us/piccolo-ISI.

ID NOW COVID-19 and BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card have been authorized by FDA under an EUA (and have not been FDA cleared or approved) for use by authorized laboratories only for the detection of nucleic acid or proteins from SARS-CoV-2, and not for any other viruses or pathogens. These tests are only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19, under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner.

About Abbott:

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 107,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

¹ Data on file, Abbott Diabetes Care. Data based on the number of users worldwide for the FreeStyle Libre portfolio compared to the number of users for other leading personal use, sensor-based glucose monitoring systems.

SOURCE Abbott