ABAXIS teams with VetSmart; VetSmart to install Abaxis VetScan System in pet hospitals and health centers nationwide.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 26, 1997--Further broadening its presence in the veterinary blood testing market, ABAXIS Inc. (NASDAQ NM:ABAX) Wednesday announced it has signed an agreement with VetSmart, the nation's largest veterinarian services network, to provide ABAXIS' VetScan Systems and reagent discs for use in pet hospitals nationwide.

In the agreement, ABAXIS will sell 105 VetScan systems and a minimum of 80,000 reagent discs to VetSmart during the next 12 months. In turn, VetSmart will install the systems in their pet hospitals nationwide. ABAXIS' VetScan System will be installed immediately upon shipment to replace equipment currently used by VetSmart.

ABAXIS believes its VetScan Systems will become the standard blood testing equipment for veterinary services provided by VetSmart, located within PETsMART stores.

"This order further endorses the utility of our VetScan System and its superiority in providing fast, reliable test results for domestic animals," said Clint Severson, ABAXIS' president and chief executive officer.

"There is a growing trend toward providing one-stop-shopping for pet owners, whether for food and grooming supplies or health evaluation and disease diagnosis. We are extremely pleased to ally with VetSmart who will bolster our presence in the veterinary diagnostic market."

This news release contains words that identify forward-looking statements which are made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

The future events described in such statements involve risks and uncertainties, among them, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the market acceptance of its products and the continuing development of the company's products, including risks associated with manufacturing and distributing its products on a commercial scale, general market conditions, competition and other risks detailed from time to time in ABAXIS' periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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 discs, which 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

Ting Lu, 408/745-6851

or

Pondel Parsons & Wilkinson

Rob Whetstone, 310/207-9300

[e-mail]