Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Chief Executive Miles White said Wednesday the drug and medical-products company isn't evaluating any large acquisitions, and instead was focused on doing smaller deals.

"We don't need large deals to achieve our financial or strategic objectives," White said on a conference call with analysts after reporting first-quarter results.

That may come as a surprise to some investors. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Abbott had held preliminary takeover talks with Wyeth (WYE) in December but decided not to pursue the matter. Pfizer Inc. (PFE) subsequently agreed to buy Wyeth in a deal originally valued at about $68 billion.

Abbott, Abbott Park, Ill., is believed to be the "Company X" that was cited in Pfizer and Wyeth regulatory filings as having expressed interest in Wyeth.

But White said Wednesday he was "amused by the Company X dustup."He later added: "If the Company X comment was intended to imply that Abbott competed for Wyeth, it is false. We did not compete for Wyeth."

He said Abbott was "not necessarily looking at any large M&A."

-Peter Loftus; Dow Jones Newswires; 215-656-8289; peter.loftus@dowjones.com