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.
Contact:
|
Clint
Severson
|
Lytham Partners,
LLC
|
|
Chief Executive
Officer
|
Joe Dorame, Joe Diaz
& Robert Blum
|
|
ABAXIS,
Inc.
|
602-889-9700
|
|
510-675-6500
|
|
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SOURCE Abaxis, Inc.