Abaxis, Inc. Announces Licensing Of Lyophilization Technology To bioMerieux SA

UNION CITY, Calif., March 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abaxis, Inc. , a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems, announced today that it has completed an agreement to license a portion of its patent portfolio covering lyophilization technology to bioMerieux SA.

"Our Orbos lyophilization technology, through the freeze drying of reagents in small quantities, enables efficient manufacturing of reagents in a convenient and stable format. This license with bioMerieux once again shows that our Orbos technology is quickly becoming a standard format for reagent utilization in molecular diagnostics," said Kenneth Aron, Ph.D., Vice-President of R&D at Abaxis.

"We now have several major companies utilizing our Orbos lyophilization technology. All of these companies have recognized the utility of our freeze-drying solution and are committed to utilizing our technology in a number of their product lines."

Dr. Aron continued, "We see significant opportunities for further licensing in the fields of molecular diagnostics and environmental monitoring. These licensing opportunities are particularly attractive to Abaxis since these fields are complementary to our own but in no way compete with our core business of clinical chemistry. Since we get additional recurring revenue for Abaxis, these licenses all represent classic win-win scenarios for us and for our present and future licensees."

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, 6.9 kilogram (15 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 14 minutes with the precision and accuracy equivalent to a clinical laboratory analyzer.

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"). 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", or "anticipates", and do not reflect historical facts. Specific forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to fluctuations in the Company's share price, the market acceptance of the Company's products and the continuing development of its products, required United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") 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 involved in carrying of inventory, risks associated with the ability to attract, train and retain competent sales personnel, general market conditions, competition 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, Joe Diaz Abaxis, Inc. 602-889-9700 510-675-6500

CONTACT: Clint Severson, Chief Executive Officer of Abaxis, Inc.,+1-510-675-6500; or Joe Dorame, or Robert Blum, or Joe Diaz, all of LythamPartners, LLC, +1-602-889-9700, for Abaxis, Inc.