(Crain’s) — A coalition of faith-based institutional investors with holdings in Abbott Laboratories Inc. is urging the pharmaceutical giant to reverse its decision to stop introducing new medicine in Thailand.

The 14 investors, led by New York-based Christian Brothers Investment Services Inc., have combined holdings of about $35 million in Abbott, according to a statement.

Last week North Chicago-based Abbott said it would not launch any new drugs in Thailand when officials from the Southeast Asian nation said they would break the patent on Abbott’s AIDS-fighting drug Kaletra. Abbott’s decision has drawn fire from AIDS activists.

“By keeping life-saving medicines like Kaletra off the shelves in Thailand, Abbott Labs is threatening the health of Thais who need access to these drugs for survival,” the statement says.

“We believe the company is overlooking risks that can have a serious effect on brand, its relationships with patients, and ultimately, shareholder value,” the statement continues.

An Abbott spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

If Abbott ignores Christian Brothers' request, the investment firm plans to make a statement at Abbott's annual meeting urging the company to "change its position," said Julie Tanner, corporate advocacy coordinator for Christian Brothers.

"That can sometimes put the company in a difficult situation, if you have four or five speakers saying 'This concerns us,'" she said.

Abbott's annual meeting is scheduled for April 27.

Ms. Tanner said Christian Brothers has tried unsuccessfully a number of times during the last three years to secure a meeting or conference call with Abbott executives to discuss issues of concern to the investment group.

Christian Brothers does not plan to divest its holdings of Abbott, Ms. Tanner said.

"By keeping our shares we have the ability to leverage those shares to effect change," she said.

More than 500,000 people in Thailand are living with AIDS, according to the United Nations.