26/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 25 April, the European Commission approved the proposed acquisition of Abbott Laboratories' in vitro diagnostics business (Abbott Diagnostics) by General Electric Company (GE) of the US. US based Abbott Diagnostics is one of the world's leading suppliers of in vitro diagnostic (IVD) products to the healthcare profession. GE is also active in the healthcare sector. The Commission's examination concluded that the merged entity would not have the ability or incentive to discriminate against its downstream competitors in the supply of IVD products, as there are a number of credible alternative suppliers of liquid chromatography. (cd)