The contentious merger between Abbott and Alere is moving forward under amended terms, with Abbott now paying $5.3 billion to acquire Alere instead of the $5.8 billion announced in February 2016. Following the companies’ signing of their original 2016 agreement, Alere faced a series of troubles, including the recall of a prothrombin time/international normalized ratio monitoring system due to incorrect test results, two different U.S. Department of Justice investigations, and a case of alleged Medicare fraud that led to Alere’s diabetes unit losing its Medicare enrollment. As these problems piled up, Abbott attempted to call off the deal by offering Alere $50 million, which Alere refused. Both companies eventually filed lawsuits against each other, with Alere’s suit pushing Abbott to complete the acquisition, while Abbott’s suit sought to void the agreement by arguing that Alere’s long-term prospects had undergone a material adverse change. Under the renegotiated terms of the merger, both companies have now agreed to dismiss their respective lawsuits. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2017’s third quarter, and will boost Abbott’s point-of-care procedure count by more than 60%, according to Kalorama Information.