We just closed the books on the first quarter of 2019 and our key products are helping to deliver another strong start for Abbott.

For the quarter, we delivered sales growth of more than 7% (on an organic basis) and exceeded our previous ongoing earnings-per-share guidance thanks to key products such as FreeStyle Libre, Alinity and MitraClip. We are also seeing several other bright spots throughout our portfolio in our medical devices, nutrition and established pharma businesses.

And, our innovative pipeline and focused execution is continuing to pay off. We saw more than 10 significant product approvals and developments in the first quarter alone.

Some of the highlights include:

• MitraClip™ received a new, expanded indication in the U.S. to treat advanced heart failure patients with significant secondary mitral regurgitation, or a leaky heart valve.
• Alinity, our highly-differentiated new suite of diagnostics systems, was selected by one of the largest reference labs in the U.S. to conduct testing for millions of patients. And Alinity™ m, the latest molecular testing platform for infectious disease, was approved in Europe.*
• The FreeStyle Libre System, our revolutionary glucose-monitoring system, continues to see unprecedented uptake as we work to take connected care to the next level. We've partnered with Novo Nordisk to enable insulin data sharing between connected insulin pens and FreeStyle^® LibreLink and LibreView.

For full financials, you can read our press release, or take a look at some additional materials below:

Abbott's Chairman and CEO Miles D. White shared his views on first-quarter performance: