ABAXIS appoints two new vice presidents in sales and marketing.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(HealthWire)--Nov. 13, 1995--ABAXIS Inc. (NASDAQ/NM:ABAX), a medical products company, Monday announced the appointment of Ricardo E. Hermida, Ph.D., to vice president of international sales and marketing, and Marc H. Wank to vice president of sales and marketing for North America.

"We are extremely fortunate to have these two individuals whose experience and expertise will provide sales and marketing leadership for our company," said Gary H. Stroy, president and chief executive officer of ABAXIS. "These appointments are a critical step in the rollout of our new Piccolo Portable Blood Analyzers and the continued success of our products the marketplace."

In connection with the Piccolo System, Stroy said he believes negotiations currently in process with Baxter Healthcare Corp. should be concluded in the current quarter. ABAXIS announced in July 1995 that Baxter had signed a letter of intent to become a non-exclusive distributor of ABAXIS' Piccolo System in the United States.

"We remain committed to our fundamental growth strategies and are particularly encouraged by the enthusiastic response our new Piccolo System received when it was showcased to more than 200 distributors in mid-October at the annual Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) meeting," said Stroy. "Our next step is to begin the qualifying process for additional distributor relationships."

Hermida will be responsible for sales and marketing of all ABAXIS products outside of North America. He most recently served as director of sales and marketing for Adeza Biomedical in Sunnyvale, where he established and managed dealer organizations worldwide.

During his 25-year career, Hermida has headed Latin American and international operations at such companies as Beckman Instruments and Sequoia Turner, and held senior sales management positions with large diagnostic corporations, including Abbott Laboratories in Mexico and Miles Laboratories in Argentina.

Hermida holds a doctorate degree in biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires and a master's in business administration from Catholic University of Buenos Aires.

Wank will be responsible for sales and marketing of all ABAXIS products in North America, which includes all of the United States and Canada. Wank joins ABAXIS after 13 years at Baxter, the world's largest medical products distributor, where he most recently served as Western Area manager of the anesthesia division. Previously, Wank served as general manager for Baxter American Antec, a joint venture between Baxter and Antec Systems Ltd. of Oxford, England.

Wank earned a master's of business administration degree in economics and a bachelor's degree in business administration, both from the University of Georgia.

Founded in 1989, ABAXIS develops, manufactures and markets portable blood analysis systems for use in any patient-care setting to provide clinicians with rapid blood constituent measurements. The system consists of a compact, 6.9 kilogram, portable analyzer and a series of 8 cm diameter single-use plastic disks, called reagent rotors, that contain all the reagents necessary to perform a fixed menu of tests.

The system can be operated with minimal training and perform multiple routine tests on whole blood using either venous or fingerstick samples. The system provides test results in less than 14 minutes with the precision and accuracy equivalent to a clinical laboratory.

Contact: ABAXIS Inc., Sunnyvale

Gary H. Stroy, 408/745-6854

or

Pondel Parsons & Wilkinson, Los Angeles

Rob Whetstone, 310/207-9300

Internet: [e-mail]