Abbott Laboratories said Tuesday that its antibiotic Biaxin, already the fastest-selling drug in the company's history, received the first Food and Drug Administration approval for use against a common killer of people with AIDS.

The FDA approved the drug for treatment of disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex, commonly called MAC, a disease that studies detect in 20 to 50 percent of AIDS patients.

Biaxin, the trade name for clarithromycin, has had $410 million in sales this year, according to Robert Goldman, a senior analyst for Smith Barney.