Abbott and Reckitt Fall on News of New Infant Formula Trial
Last year, a jury rejected claims that formulas made by Abbott and Reckitt’s Mead Johnson unit caused necrotizing enterocolitis in Whitfield’s son.
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Abbott Laboratories and Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc shares fell as a judge ordered a new trial after rejecting a verdict that had cleared the companies of liability over claims they hid potential risks of their premature-infant formulas.
Abbott was down 2.7% at 1:54 p.m. in New York after paring morning losses, while Reckitt’s shares fell as much as 5.6% in London before closing down 1.7%. Both early declines were the biggest in about eight months.