Abbott gets Hungary for diabetes

Abbott Laboratories Inc. is looking to Eastern Europe to beef up its diabetes care portfolio. The U.S. pharmaceuticals group has agreed to invest some $20 million in Biorex Research and Development Co. of Hungary for exclusive global rights to diabetes applications of Bimoclomol, a small molecule that triggers the production of so-called stress proteins.

Now Biorex is considering a flotation on NASDAQ rather than the London Stock Exchange, according to Peter Rona, chairman at Biorex and CEO of the Jersey-based First Hungary Fund, the majority shareholder of Biorex...