Abaxis Veterinary Reference Laboratories Now Fully Operational Nationwide

UNION CITY, Calif., Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Abaxis, Inc. (NasdaqGS: ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems, announced today that Abaxis Veterinary Reference Laboratories, (AVRL), based in Olathe, Kansas, and in partnership with Kansas State University, is fully operational and is accepting and processing samples nationwide. With the addition of AVRL, Abaxis now offers veterinarians nationwide a highly competitive full-service commercial laboratory with a focus on specialty and esoteric testing and analysis which today cannot typically be conducted at the point-of-care. This service complements Abaxis provision of a full suite of on-site laboratory instrumentation and rapid diagnostics for in hospital routine, critical care and emergency medicine laboratory needs. AVRL offers comprehensive, reliable, accurate and competitively priced specialty testing and routine laboratory services, along with extensive consultation and case management services from experts across many disciplines, both through its partnership at Kansas State University and a network of veterinary professionals and consultants nationwide.

Clint Severson, chairman and chief executive officer of Abaxis, commented, "The investment in AVRL, with our first facility in the Kansas City area fully operational on a nationwide scale today, is a testament to the forward thinking individuals and competencies of this whole organization. We will continue to invest in the expansion of AVRL and other opportunistic ventures, expanding our footprint in the animal health industry in North America and worldwide."

Martin Mulroy, Abaxis' corporate vice president of sales and marketing for North American Animal Health added, "Over two years in the making, I am pleased to report AVRL performed flawlessly in our September test market program and all systems are operational. The development of a new business takes a highly dedicated and focused group of seasoned professionals. It was an expansive team contributing to the successful build of this new business for Abaxis; from our executives in Olathe, Kansas led by Mark Patterson, AVRL Division president, and the Abaxis corporate team led by Michael Solomon, director of business development for North American Animal Health. I would also like to thank our partners at Kansas State University, Dean Ralph Richardson and all the individuals there that made this a reality."

About Abaxis

Abaxis develops, manufactures, markets and sells portable blood analysis systems for use in any veterinary or human patient-care setting to provide clinicians with rapid blood constituent measurements. The system consists of a compact, 5.1 kilogram (11.2 pounds), portable analyzer and a series of single-use plastic discs, called reagent discs that contain all the chemicals required to perform a panel of up to 13 tests on veterinary patients and 14 tests on human patients. The system can be operated with minimal training and performs multiple routine tests on whole blood, serum or plasma samples. The system provides test results in less than 12 minutes with the precision and accuracy equivalent to a clinical laboratory analyzer. The veterinary business also provides to the animal health and research market a line of hematology instruments for point-of-care complete blood counts (CBC), a specialty instrument to screen for and detect clotting disorders and to measure equine fibrinogen levels, a handheld instrument for the rapid assessment of certain critical care tests and rapid point-of-care tests for Heartworm infections in dogs, Parvovirus and Giardia. Abaxis, through its AVRL Division, provides routine laboratory testing as well as specialty testing for veterinarians' nationwide. This state-of-the-art commercial laboratory will be the hub of the Abaxis Veterinary Reference Laboratories (AVRL).

This press release includes statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"), including but not limited to statements related to Abaxis' cash position, financial resources and potential for future growth, market acceptance and penetration of new or planned product offerings, and future recurring revenues and results of operations. Abaxis claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the terms "may," "believes," "projects," "expects," "anticipates," or words of similar import, and do not reflect historical facts. Specific forward-looking statements contained in this press release or in Abaxis' conference call may be affected by risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to losses or system failures with respect to Abaxis' facilities or manufacturing operations, fluctuations in quarterly operating results, dependence on sole suppliers, the market acceptance of Abaxis' products and the continuing development of its products, required United States Food and Drug Administration clearance and other government approvals, risks associated with manufacturing and distributing its products on a commercial scale free of defects, risks related to the introduction of new instruments manufactured by third parties, risks associated with competing in the human diagnostic market, risks related to the protection of Abaxis' intellectual property or claims of infringement of intellectual property asserted by third parties, risks related to condition of the United States economy and other risks detailed under "Risk Factors" in Abaxis' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 and Abaxis' other periodic reports filed from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements were made. Abaxis does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.