U.S. pharmaceuticals company Abbott Laboratories (ABT) said Wednesday it isn't interested in Belgium's Solvay SA's (SOLB.BT) Tricor business, one of its best-selling drugs in which the two companies have a partnership, denying earlier press reports.

"We have no interest in expanding our participation in the fenofibrate market, which was implied in the article," Chief Financial Officer Thomas Freyman told analysts on a conference call, referring to a Financial Times article reporting an Abbott interest in Solvay's Tricor. "We already have a strong presence there and an adequate investment," he said.

The newspaper reported Wednesday that Solvay has narrowed the list of bidders for its pharma unit to private-equity owned Swiss company Nycomed and Abbott, which would be only bidding for Tricor.

Solvay launched a review of options for its pharma business April. It has hired Morgan Stanley (MS), Citigroup (C) and Rothschild to advise on a possible sale, people familiar with the situation said.

Solvay and Abbott sell fenofibrate, which aims to cut cholesterol levels, under the brand name Tricor.

With patents expiring on their blockbuster drugs, many big pharmaceutical companies are keen to snap up smaller competitors, to secure new products, analysts said.

-By Marietta Cauchi and Alessandro Torello, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; marietta.cauchi@dowjones.com

(Alessandro Torello reported from Brussels. Peter Loftus from Philadelphia contributed to this story.)