ABAXIS announces licensing of lyophilization technology to Cepheid.

ABAXIS, Inc. (Union City, CA) a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems, has completed an agreement to license a portion of its patent portfolio covering lyophilization technology to Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA).

"Lyophilization is essentially the process of freeze-drying reagents in micro quantities," commented Clint Severson, chairman, president and CEO of ABAXIS. "Our Orbos technology enables the effective manufacturing and lyophilization of reagents and is considered one of the most effective formats for reagent utilization in molecular diagnostics."

"This agreement with Cepheid brings to three the number of major companies that are utilizing our Orbos lyophilization technology. This includes GE Healthcare, which is the sole sublicensor of the technology to the research market. BD (Becton Dickinson and Company) is also a customer for this technology. All three 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."

Mr. Severson continued, "With all the interest and growth in providing effective methodologies for pathogen detection and identification, we see ample opportunities for further licensing in the fields of molecular diagnostics and environmental monitoring. Licensing for these applications will continue to be attractive to ABAXIS since these fields are complementary to our own but in no way compete with our core business of clinical chemistry. Additionally, these types of licensing agreements provide an additional recurring revenue component for ABAXIS. This allows a classic win-win scenario for us and for our present and future licensees."

Kenneth Aron, Ph.D., vice president of research and development for ABAXIS, stated, "Due to the very nature of our products, ABAXIS has been conducting research and development and patenting techniques (23 patents issued, 3 pending) for micro-fluidic and micro-reagent utilization for diagnostic platforms for more than fifteen years. So it follows that we have some of the basic intellectual property for a number of key processes which will be increasingly critical as molecular diagnostics and environmental testing becomes more widespread."

"Our Orbos technology," continued Dr. Aron, "is both a precise and a convenient format for reagents critical in such basic processes as PCR for DNA amplification and detection. With the signing of this agreement with Cepheid, we are actively identifying other licensing opportunities in this area. We are achieving a strategic goal and it's exciting to see the breadth of our platform technologies extending into these areas as we develop more licensing partners."

Cepheid is a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of fully integrated systems that enable genetic assessment when and where it is needed. Founded in 1996, the company is commercializing its technology and products worldwide for research, medical, and industrial applications requiring assessment of the human genome, infectious disease and biothreat agents.

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.

ABAXIS, Inc.

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Cepheid

www.cepheid.com