UNION CITY, Calif., April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Abaxis, Inc. , a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis instruments for both the medical and veterinary markets, announced a reorganization of its North American sales and marketing organization resulting from a strategic review of the company's medical business. As a part of this reorganization, Christopher M. Bernard, Vice President of North American Medical Sales and Marketing, has ceased to be an employee of the company.
Abaxis' Medical Area Sales Directors, Mike Petrunich and Matt Rapp, will continue to be responsible for managing and growing the field sales teams. Rick Betts, Director of Medical Marketing, will coordinate their efforts with the in-house marketing team and all will report to Clint Severson, chief executive officer, until a successor to Mr. Bernard is named. The Company has hired and retained a recruiting firm to find a successor; eligible candidates could come from inside or outside the company.
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.
Safe Harbor
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 are subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the company's ability to recruit and retain sales and marketing personnel, 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, 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, Chief Executive Officer of Abaxis, Inc.,
+1-510-675-6500; or Joe Dorame, Robert Blum, or Joe Diaz, all of Lytham
Partners, LLC, +1-602-889-9700, for Abaxis, Inc.
