By Soyoung Kim and Olivia Oran
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories (N:ABT) is considering selling a big chunk of its mature drugs, people familiar with the matter said, joining a list of large drugmakers seeking to sell their older products in an effort to focus on high-growth areas.
Abbott's portfolio of mature drugs being reviewed for sale has around $2 billion (1.18 billion pounds) in annual revenue and could fetch more than $5 billion, the people said.
The U.S. drugmaker is working with Morgan Stanley (N:MS) to find a buyer for the off-patent, or established products, the people added, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Representatives for Abbott and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
Abbott has a big lineup of established pharmaceuticals, whose sales fell 3 percent last year to $4.97 billion. Analysts have been grumbling for the past year about the performance of the business, which has dragged down overall company results.
But Abbott Chief Executive Miles White previously expressed faith in the business, and appreciation for the cash flow it provides that can be used to fund research and other company operations.
(Additional reporting by Ransdell Pierson in New York; editing by Matthew Lewis)