Abaxis, Inc. And Banfield Pet Hospital® Enter Into Exclusive Five-Year Supply Agreement

UNION CITY, Calif., Nov. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Abaxis, Inc. (NasdaqGS: ABAX), a global diagnostics company manufacturing point-of-care instruments and consumables for the medical, research, and veterinary markets worldwide, announced today that a five year supply contract has been signed for Abaxis to provide VetScan HM5 Hematology analyzers and sell the associated consumables to all Banfield Pet Hospital locations. As part of the agreement, Abaxis expects to begin installations and training at all Banfield hospitals in early 2016.

"At Banfield Pet Hospital, we believe in providing pets with the highest quality care–part of that care is ensuring that we invest in the right equipment and technology. The VetScan HM5 Hematology analyzer will provide high quality in-house blood analysis for our hospital teams, allowing them to make more accurate and efficient recommendations for our pets and clients," said Karen Faunt, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, Vice President of Medical Quality Advancement at Banfield Pet Hospital. "Abaxis has been quick to respond to our needs as a practice and we are appreciative of our ongoing partnership."

Don Wood, President and Chief Operating Officer of Abaxis, stated, "We are pleased to partner with one of the premier veterinary organizations in the world. We are confident that our HM5 analyzer will complement Banfield's extraordinary ability to provide the highest quality pet care through their use of the point-of-care laboratory."

About Abaxis

Abaxis, Inc. is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of portable blood analysis systems that are used in a broad range of medical specialties in human or veterinary patient care to provide clinicians with rapid blood constituent measurements.  Our mission is to improve the efficiency of care delivery to and the quality of life of patients in the medical and veterinary markets.  We provide leading edge technology, tools and services that support best medical practices, enabling physicians and veterinarians to respond to the health needs of their clients at the point of care while operating economical and profitable practices.  For more information, visit http://www.abaxis.com.

About Banfield Pet Hospital^®

Founded in Portland, Ore. in 1955, Banfield is the largest general veterinary practice in the world. In 2007, Banfield joined the Mars, Inc. family of businesses, and today it is more than 900 hospitals strong in neighborhoods across the United States and Puerto Rico. More than 3,200 veterinarians at Banfield are committed to giving pets the highest quality of veterinary care. Banfield hospitals offer a full range of comprehensive medical services, computerized medical records, preventive care plans for pets and extended operating hours. Banfield Pet Hospital provides preventive care for millions of pets each year through Optimum Wellness Plans^®.

Forward Looking Statements

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 or in Abaxis' conference call 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, the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on international 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, and subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10‑Q 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.

Related Links

http://www.abaxis.com