American Bio Medica Announces Four Year Worldwide Clinical Marketing Alliance With Abbott Laboratories.

HUDSON, N.Y.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 14, 1998--American Bio Medica Corporation (NASDAQ:ABMC) today announced a four year worldwide sales and marketing agreement with Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT). This expands ABMC's original contract with International Murex Technologies Corp., acquired by Abbott in April 1998.

The new agreement gives Abbott exclusive worldwide rights to all present and future ABMC substance abuse products in clinical markets. The contract stipulates an exception for countries where ABMC has existing contracts.

"Abbott provides ABMC the marketing strength we need to penetrate global clinical sectors," stated Jay Bendis, vice president of sales and marketing of ABMC. "With existing drug abuse instrumentation, Abbott's sales force has strong industry contacts that can be used to market our synergistic product line. Since we have already made infrastructure investments to manage the projected sales growth, we expect this contract to yield greater economies of scale and maintain strong margins."

ABMC offers secure, flexible, and easy-to-use on-site drug testing. The Company's Rapid Drug Screen(tm) products generate results in less than five minutes and simultaneously test for up to nine drugs of abuse.

Abbott Laboratories is a world-leading supplier of in vitro diagnostic systems and tests, with sales in more than 130 countries.

American Bio Medica Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets inexpensive, accurate, on-site drugs of abuse diagnostic kits and support services worldwide. The Company's global distributors target the workplace, clinical, rehabilitation, physicians, corrections, and educational markets. ABMC's Rapid Drug Screen is proven to correlate 100% with the standard laboratory screening test.

Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company's products, increased levels of competition for the Company, new products and technological changes, the Company's dependence on third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.