Abbott Laboratories agreed to a $670 million settlement with three law firms to resolve claims from families of preterm infants who alleged harm from the company’s specialty formulas.
The agreement covers approximately 2,000 claimants, according to the filing. About 1,000 lawsuits have been filed in total against Abbott and Mead Johnson, a unit of Reckitt, over products including Similac and Enfamil formulas. More than 800 of these cases are centralized in an Illinois federal court.
The settlement includes a previously adjudicated case in which Abbott was ordered to pay $495 million. In 2024, a Missouri jury found that Abbott’s infant formula contributed to a preterm Illinois girl developing necrotizing enterocolitis, a severe bowel disease primarily affecting premature newborns. The company had appealed the verdict to Missouri’s Supreme Court after a state appeals court upheld the judgment in May 2026.
Abbott and Mead Johnson maintain that their formulas do not cause the condition, noting that breast milk is known to reduce the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis. The companies emphasized that clinicians have long recognized the protective benefits of breast milk.
Necrotizing enterocolitis, which can result in tissue death in the bowel, carries a mortality rate exceeding 20% in affected infants, according to medical literature cited in the litigation.
The settlement resolves a significant portion of the outstanding litigation related to infant formula products, though additional claims may remain pending.
