UNION CITY, Calif., Dec. 17 Abaxis, Inc. (Nasdaq: ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis instruments and rapid tests for the medical, research and veterinary markets, announced today that it has entered the production animal diagnostics marketplace with its first product, a rapid Avian Influenza Antigen Test. This is a USDA-licensed test for Avian Influenza Type A nucleoprotein antigen in chickens, turkeys and ducks. The disposable, non-instrumented device, providing results in 15 minutes, can be used in the field or in a laboratory of any size.
Advertisement
Martin Mulroy, Vice President Sales and Marketing North American Animal Health of Abaxis commented, "Abaxis is the 2nd largest and fastest growing Animal Health diagnostics company in the world. Our reputation for innovation, quality, reliability and service in the companion animal marketplace, the equine marketplace, and the research market is unparalleled. Our entry into production animal diagnostics is a win for Abaxis and its shareholders, Abaxis distributors who participate in this marketplace, the production animal industry and those clinicians and laboratories serving it, and the population at large."
Advertisement
Mr. Mulroy continued, "This new product further extends Abaxis' scope, building on our strong position of having worldwide rights in the field of animal health diagnostics using certain technologies pertaining to lateral flow immunoassay devices and methods."
Michael Solomon, Director of Business Development for North American Animal Health of Abaxis added, "We are already investigating and have made headway evaluating synergies in production animal diagnostics with our current portfolio of products, internal research and development opportunities leveraging existing Abaxis intellectual property, and other joint development ventures."
This is the fourth new product launched by Abaxis Animal Health this calendar year. In January, Abaxis began providing the marketplace its first lateral flow product, a rapid Canine Heartworm Antigen test. Also in January, Abaxis launched the VetScan® VSpro, providing coagulation results at the point-of-care with new assays under development planned for calendar year 2010 release. In July, Abaxis launched the VetScan i-STAT® 1, a handheld analyzer for critical care and specialty testing.
About Abaxis, Inc.
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 or rotors, which 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, research and production animal market a line of hematology instruments for point-of-care complete blood counts (CBC), a Coagulation instrument to screen for and detect clotting disorders and a handheld instrument for the rapid assessment of certain critical care and specialty tests. The company now also provides a rapid, point-of-care, lateral flow test for Heartworm infections in dogs and for Avian Influenza.
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 of new or planned product offerings, process improvements and product manufacturing quality and efficiencies in future production of our products. 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 may be affected by risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to the market acceptance of the company's 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 entering the human diagnostic market on a larger scale, risks related to the protection of the company's intellectual property or claims of infringement of intellectual property asserted by third parties, risks related to condition of the United States economy, risks involved in carrying of inventory and other risks detailed under "Risk Factors" in Abaxis' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2009 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: Clint Severson Lytham Partners, LLC Chief Executive Officer Joe Dorame, Robert Blum and Joe Diaz Abaxis, Inc. 602-889-9700 510-675-6500
SOURCE Abaxis, Inc.
