Abbott sees profits jump 34 percent

LIBERTYVILLE TOWNSHIP - Abbott Laboratories Inc. beat Wall Street expectations Wednesday with a 34-percent jump in second-quarter profit, driven by robust sales of its blockbuster drug Humira and increased business overseas. The earnings boost came in part from surging international business, with non-U.S. pharmaceutical sales rising more than 25 percent and diagnostic sales up nearly 20 percent. Sales were led by the company's blockbuster arthritis medication Humira, which posted revenue of over $1 billion, up 48 percent from last year.