Abaxis, Inc. Announces Distribution Agreement With Patterson Veterinary Supply
UNION CITY, Calif., Oct. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Abaxis, Inc. (NasdaqGS: ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care instruments and consumables for the medical, research, and veterinary markets worldwide and providing reference lab services to the veterinary and research markets in the United States, announced today it has entered into a definitive distribution agreement with Patterson Veterinary Supply. Patterson will inventory, market and promote the full line of Abaxis veterinary products throughout the United States. Patterson sales and marketing activities will commence immediately.
Clint Severson, Abaxis President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "We are delighted to welcome Patterson to the Abaxis distribution network and look forward to their contributions to our business and their own. Patterson's commitment to promoting and marketing only the Abaxis product line as a diagnostic solution shows both their commitment to the partnership and the outstanding value of our products and services."
Craig Tockman, DVM, Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Abaxis, added, "The relationship between the distributor representative and the veterinarian is a vital component of the business of running a veterinary practice. We believe distribution plays a vital role in the purchasing decisions made by the veterinarian and we are committed to our entire roster of distribution partners for the long term. Patterson has a fantastic reputation and we are pleased they will represent Abaxis."
George Henriques, president of Patterson Veterinary, commented, "We are excited by the access our veterinarians will now have to Abaxis' state-of-the-art diagnostic technology as we work toward our core mission of providing quality veterinary care to our customers and peace of mind for pet owners. We also see great potential benefit from the relationship between two demonstrated leaders in veterinary diagnostics. We are confident that this agreement will further the goals of both companies to provide a comprehensive suite of diagnostic solutions and technical support to the veterinary community."
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, Ehrlichia and Lyme disease. Abaxis, through its AVRL division, provides routine laboratory testing as well as specialty testing for veterinarians nationwide.
About Patterson Companies, Inc.
Patterson Companies, Inc. is a value-added distributor serving the dental, companion-pet veterinarian and rehabilitation supply markets.
Dental Market: As Patterson's largest business, Patterson Dental provides a virtually complete range of consumable dental products, equipment and software, turnkey digital solutions and value-added services to dentists and dental laboratories throughout North America.
Veterinary Market: Patterson Veterinary is a leading distributor in the U.S. and U.K. of consumable veterinary supplies, equipment and software, diagnostic products, vaccines and pharmaceuticals predominantly to companion-pet veterinary clinics.
Rehabilitation Market: Patterson Medical is the world's leading distributor of rehabilitation supplies and non-wheelchair assistive patient products to the physical and occupational therapy markets. The unit's global customer base includes hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics and dealers.
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 may be affected by risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to risks related to the transition of its U.S. medical sales to Abbott, potential excess inventory levels and inventory imbalances at the company's distributors, 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 and risks related to condition of the United States economy. Readers should also refer to the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Abaxis' annual report on Form 10-K, recent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Abaxis' other periodic reports filed 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.
SOURCE Abaxis, Inc.