Abbott Laboratories shares rose nearly 5% before the bell on Friday, after a jury cleared the company and a Reckitt unit of liability in a lawsuit over their premature baby formulas' risks.

Shares in Reckitt Benckiser topped the Stoxx Europe 600 Index after a U.S. court cleared the company of liability in a case concerning its baby formulas.

Abbott Laboratories and a unit of Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc were cleared by a jury over claims they hid risks their premature-infant formulas can cause a bowel disease that severely sickened a baby boy.

(Reuters) -Abbott and Reckitt unit Mead Johnson are not responsible for a young boy's debilitating intestinal disease, a jury found on Thursday in a lawsuit accusing them of failing to warn of their premature baby formulas' risks,

A St. Louis jury handed Abbott Laboratories a win Thursday, deciding that Abbott, another company and a hospital were not liable after a boy consumed the companies’ cow’s milk-based products for premature infants and became severely ill.

The Whitfield family legal case was just one of many still pending relating to the necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) disease.

Financial writer covers Abbot's 4.3% rise after being found not liable in baby formula lawsuit, along with Reckitt Benckiser.