Abaxis, Inc. Announces USDA Approval of New VetScan FLEX4 Rapid Test

FLEX4 is a 4-in-1 lateral flow vector-borne disease test for veterinary use

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Jan 22, 2018, 07:00 ET

UNION CITY, Calif., Jan. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Abaxis, Inc. (NasdaqGS: ABAX), a global diagnostics company manufacturing point-of-care instruments and consumables for the medical and veterinary markets worldwide, today announced that the USDA, Center for Veterinary Biologics, approved its new VetScan FLEX4 Rapid Test for veterinary use. The FLEX4 is a 4-in-1 lateral flow test used for the qualitative detection of Heartworm antigen as well as antibodies for Lyme, Ehrlichia and Anaplasma in canine whole blood, serum, or plasma samples.

The FLEX4 Rapid Test is the newest addition to the VetScan Rapid Test product family. The VetScan FLEX4 Rapid Test offers improved shelf-life, ease-of-use, room temperature storage, and price when compared to competing products. Veterinary clinics and hospitals now have a 4-in-1 alternative for vector-borne disease testing on a single cassette. As with all other VetScan Rapid Tests for infectious diseases, results can be easily read by the user within 8-10 minutes. Abaxis plans to begin shipping FLEX4 Rapid Tests to its distributor network later this quarter and the FLEX4 should be available to U.S. veterinarians shortly thereafter.

Craig Tockman, Vice President of Animal Health Sales and Marketing for North America of Abaxis, stated, "As a veterinarian, it is always important to have the option to choose quality diagnostic products for our valued clients and their pets. We believe the FLEX4 Rapid Test will benefit many practices and hospitals looking for a new alternative that is accurate, has longer shelf-life, is less expensive, and easier to use. In addition, our strategic distributor partners are excited about this product and are prepared to get this new rapid test into the veterinary marketplace."

Clint Severson, Chief Executive Officer of Abaxis, said, "The USDA approval of the VetScan FLEX4 Rapid Test is an important achievement. It fully opens the door for Abaxis to successfully compete in this $100 million+ annual market. At Abaxis, we strive to be a leading innovator in the point-of-care diagnostics segment, and we believe the new FLEX4 Rapid Test, a 4-in-1 canine test, fits that mold. We pride ourselves on providing better, innovative solutions for our valued customers and we believe this is a significant win for our customers. Now, veterinary practices and hospitals have a diagnostic option that embodies the standard of excellence for which Abaxis is known. We believe the FLEX4 Rapid Test provides a better diagnostic solution for the pet and its owner and the veterinary practice. We look forward to the opportunities ahead."

Along with the multiplex FLEX4 Rapid Test, Abaxis will continue to sell the single test platform currently available for Heartworm disease, Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis, and Anaplasmosis. Many veterinarians praise the flexibility of the single Rapid Test line because they can test based on disease prevalence in their region or use individual tests to verify treatment outcomes at the point-of-care. With the addition of the FLEX4, the veterinarian now has increased flexibility to test infectious diseases according to their preference.

About Abaxis

Abaxis, Inc. is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of portable blood and urine analysis systems that are used in a broad range of medical specialties in human or veterinary patient care to provide clinicians with rapid blood and urine 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.

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' plans to begin shipping FLEX4 Rapid Tests to distributors and the timing thereof, the timing of availability of FLEX4 Rapid Tests to U.S. veterinarians, Abaxis' beliefs re performance of the FLEX4 Rapid Tests versus its competitors and the benefits of the FLEX4 Rapid Tests to practices and hospitals, the preparedness of distributors to get FLEX4 Rapid Tests into the veterinary marketplace, Abaxis' ability to compete effectively, the estimated market opportunity for the FLEX4 Rapid Tests, Abaxis' opportunities ahead and Abaxis' plans to continue to sell its single test platform. 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. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be affected by risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to product adoption and continued superiority of the recently approved VetScan FLEX4 Rapid Test, Abaxis' manufacturing operations, including the vulnerability of its manufacturing operations to potential interruptions and delays and its ability to manufacture products free of defects, Abaxis' ability to compete effectively, market acceptance of Abaxis' products, fluctuations in quarterly operating results and difficulty in predicting future results, the performance of Abaxis' independent distributors and Abaxis' ability to manage their inventory levels effectively, expansion of Abaxis' sales and marketing and distribution efforts, dependence on sole or limited source suppliers, the effect of exchange rate fluctuations on international operations, dependence on key personnel, risks related to the protection of Abaxis' intellectual property or claims of infringement of intellectual property asserted by third parties. 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.