UNION CITY, Calif., Aug. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abaxis, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis instruments for both the medical and veterinary markets, announced today the appointment of Brenton Hanlon to the position of vice president of North American medical sales and marketing, effective immediately. Mr. Hanlon, a member of the Abaxis Board of Directors since 1996, has resigned his position on the Board to assume this management/operational position within the Company. Mr. Hanlon has been a medical diagnostic professional and corporate executive with more than 35 years of experience. He has a strong background in general management, marketing, sales, quality control and R&D experience with in-vitro diagnostics and medical companies. From 2001 to August 2009, Mr. Hanlon served as president and chief executive officer of Hitachi Chemical Diagnostics, a manufacturer of in vitro allergy diagnostic products. Concurrently, from December 1996 until August 2009, Mr. Hanlon has served as president and chief operating officer of Tri-Continent Scientific, a subsidiary of Hitachi Chemical, specializing in liquid-handling products and instrument components for the medical diagnostics and biotechnology industries. From 1989 to December 1996, Mr. Hanlon was vice president and general manager of Tri-Continent Scientific. Mr. Hanlon serves on the board of directors of two privately-held companies. Clint Severson, chairman and chief executive officer of Abaxis commented, "We are pleased to have an industry professional with the experience and skill set of Brenton Hanlon as our new vice president of North American Medical Sales and Marketing. Brenton has a long history of success in the industry and we believe he is uniquely qualified to lead Abaxis' sales and marketing initiatives into the future. His diagnostic industry expertise will be instrumental in the progression of Abaxis as a leading point of care technology provider. I look forward to working very closely with Brenton in the coming years." About Abaxis Abaxis develops, manufactures and markets 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. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 This press release includes statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Abaxis claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. Specific forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the market acceptance of the Company's products and the continuing development of its products, risks associated with manufacturing and distributing its products on a commercial scale, risks associated with entering the human diagnostic market on a larger scale, risks involved in carrying of inventory, risks from unexpected problems or delays in the Company's manufacturing facility, risks associated with the ability to attract and retain competent sales personnel, general market conditions, competition, risks and uncertainties related to its ability to raise capital in order to fund its operations and other risks detailed from time to time in Abaxis' periodic reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. Abaxis does not undertake and specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Contact: Clint Severson Lytham Partners, LLC Chief Executive Officer Joe Dorame, Robert Blum and Joe Diaz Abaxis, Inc. 602-889-9700 510-675-6500 DATASOURCE: Abaxis, Inc. CONTACT: Clint Severson, Chief Executive Officer of Abaxis, Inc., +1-510-675-6500; or Joe Dorame, Robert Blum and Joe Diaz, all of Lytham Partners, LLC, +1-602-889-9700, for Abaxis, Inc.

Copyright