Exhibit 99.1
[ABAXIS LOGO]


Contact:        Clint Severson                 RCG Capital Markets Group
                Chief Executive Officer        Retail: Joe Dorame
                ABAXIS, Inc.                   Institutional/Analysts: Joe Diaz
                510-675-6501                   Media: Jeff Stanlis
                                               480-675-0400

                                                        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    ABAXIS AND S.A. SCIENTIFIC REACH SETTLEMENT WITH IDEXX LABORATORIES, INC.


Union City, California - December 11, 2002 -- ABAXIS, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABAX), a
medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis systems,
announced today that on December 6, 2002 it reached an out-of-court settlement
with IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. ("IDEXX") with respect to IDEXX' patent
infringement lawsuit concerning the sale and manufacturing of a canine heartworm
test kit manufactured by Abaxis partner and co-defendant S.A. Scientific, Inc.,
a privately held company located in San Antonio, Texas ("SAS")and sold by
Abaxis. Accordingly, on December 10, 2002, the lawsuit was dismissed in the
United States District Court for the District of Maine.

Under terms of the agreement and a joint defense agreement previously entered
into by Abaxis and SAS, Abaxis will be responsible for paying $249,500 in cash
damages to IDEXX, in return for which IDEXX has agreed to refrain from
initiating further legal action under the patents at issue with respect to any
future canine heartworm test that Abaxis and SAS may develop so long as any new
canine heartworm test meets certain specifications set forth in the settlement
agreement.

Clint Severson, Chairman, President and CEO, commented, "This agreement
satisfactorily resolves the issue and allows Abaxis to continue work to develop,
manufacture and sell point of care tests in the veterinary and human markets. We
will continue to work to develop new tests to broaden our product offerings,
including tests for canine heartworm that do not utilize IDEXX' patented
hypertonic solution method."

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 tests on whole blood, serum, or plasma. The system provides
test results in less than 14 minutes with the precision and accuracy equivalent
to a clinical laboratory.

This press release includes statements that constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. ABAXIS claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking
statements contained in the Reform Act. Specific forward-looking statements
contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, risks and
uncertainties related to the market acceptance of the ABAXIS' products and the
continuing development of its products, risks associated with manufacturing and
distributing its products on a commercial scale, risks associated with entering
the human diagnostic market on a larger scale, risks involved in carrying of
inventory, risks associated with the ability to attract and retain competent
sales personnel, general market conditions, competition, risks and uncertainties
related to its ability to raise capital in order to fund its operations and
other risks detailed from time to time in ABAXIS' periodic reports filed with
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date the statement was made. ABAXIS does not undertake and
specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

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