NORCROSS, Ga., April 13 -- SpectRx Inc. said that, as planned, its partner Abbott Laboratories has assumed financial responsibility for its continuous glucose monitoring program, as of April 1, 2001. Previously, SpectRx had been funding part of the research and development program.
    Abbott has exclusive worldwide marketing rights to SpectRx's interstitial fluid (ISF) glucose monitoring technology. Under the agreement, SpectRx will receive a royalty on sales of disposables and has the option to manufacture continuous monitoring devices for Abbott. The technology is being developed with Abbott. The technology measures glucose levels in ISF rather than blood. A stream of ISF is collected through an array of microscopic holes or micropores created with a laser in the outer layer of skin and measured in a patch containing a glucose sensor.