UNION CITY, Calif.,
Oct. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Abaxis,
Inc. (NasdaqGS: ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing
point-of-care blood analysis systems, today announced the Company
has signed an exclusive multi-year distribution agreement with
Abbott's Point of Care business to market and distribute the
Piccolo Xpress®, a portable clinical chemistry system and its full
line of one-time use reagent discs to the human medical market.
Under terms of the agreement, Abbott will have the exclusive
right to distribute and sell in the U.S. and China (including Hong Kong) Abaxis' Piccolo Xpress chemistry
analyzer and associated consumables in the professionally attended
human healthcare market. Abaxis will retain the distribution rights
to current customer, Catapult Health and certain segments including
pharmacy and retail store clinics, shopping malls, contract
research organizations (CROs), and cruise ship lines. Abaxis will
provide technical support and warranty services to support Abbott's
commercial efforts.
Clint Severson, chairman and
chief executive officer of Abaxis, said, "We are extremely pleased
to have formed a strategic partnership with Abbott to sell and
distribute our Piccolo Xpress instruments and our reagents discs.
This agreement with Abbott dramatically expands our reach across
the broad spectrum of healthcare institutions and medical
practitioners throughout the U.S. and provides the opportunity to
enter the China market. We
believe this agreement validates the technology of our innovative
products to produce lab-accurate comprehensive test results in
minutes, reduce medical expenses and improve patient outcomes. We
expect that this partnership will allow us to grow our medical
sales, and look forward to a successful collaboration with Abbott
in the years to come."
In light of this distribution agreement, Abaxis will reorganize
its North American medical sales and marketing organization. Mr.
Brenton Hanlon, former Vice
President of North American Medical Sales and Marketing, has left
the Company, effective October 29,
2012 to pursue other opportunities.
"I would also like to extend my appreciation to Brenton Hanlon and his team for the work done in
widening the recognition of our Piccolo line of products and the
benefits that it provides for medical practitioners and
institutions throughout the U.S.," continued Mr. Severson. "We wish
Brenton the best in his future endeavors."
Conference Call
Abaxis has scheduled a conference call
to discuss the recent developments at 4:15
p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday,
October 31, 2012. Participants can dial (877) 317-6789
or (412) 317-6789 to access the conference call, or can listen via
a live Internet web cast, which is available in the Investor
Relations section of the company's website at
http://www.abaxis.com. A replay of the call will be available
by visiting http://www.abaxis.com for the next 30 days or by
calling (877) 344-7529 or (412) 317-0088, confirmation code
10020820, through November 6,
2012. This press release is also available prior to and after
the call via Abaxis' website or the Securities and Exchange
Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov.
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, Parvovirus, Giardia and Lyme disease.
Abaxis, through its AVRL division, provides routine laboratory
testing as well as specialty testing for veterinarians
nationwide.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release
includes, and our conference call will include, 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 services, 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' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter
ended June 30, 2012 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.
Contact:
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Abaxis, Inc.
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Lytham
Partners, LLC
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Clint Severson
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Joe
Dorame, Robert Blum and Joe Diaz
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Chief Executive Officer
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602-889-9700
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510-675-6500
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SOURCE Abaxis, Inc.