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                                                                    Exhibit 5(A)


Tuesday, April 4, 2000

Company Press Release

Zaxis International Inc. Appoints Chief Financial Officer

Hudson, OH (Business Wire) - April 4, 2000 - Zaxis International Inc. (OTC BB:
ZAXS) a leading manufacturer of pre-cast electrophoresis gels and reagents,
today announced the appointment of Charles Maimbourg to the position of Chief
Financial Officer.

Mr. Maimbourg started his career with Ernst & Young LLP in their Audit Services
Group. His experience with Ernst & Young included work in their National Human
Resource Group, National Finance and Administration Group and he was selected to
start their Dispute Resolution & Litigation Services (DRLS) department. Having
been made a partner in the firm, Mr. Maimbourg grew the DRLS department to
eleven employees and became an integral part of the firm's national DRLS
practice.

His most recent experience was as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
with TRION Technologies, Inc., a provider of Knowledge Management software
solutions involving electronic document storage. In this position, he
implemented a new financial system, restructured the finance and administration
groups and directed the company's marketing efforts, strategic planning process
and the human resources department.

Mr. Maimbourg received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from
Southern Methodist University in 1981. He is a Certified Public Accountant,
Certified Management Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor and a Certified
Fraud Examiner. In addition to being involved in numerous community activities
with both non-profit and professional organizations, he has published various
articles pertaining to the accounting profession.

"With his extensive financial knowledge and experience in new and existing high
tech businesses, Chuck is a welcome addition to our management team," said John
Hrobsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zaxis International. "In
addition to directing the Company's financial department, Chuck will be
responsible for implementing our human resources policies and integrating our
network and software systems."

Zaxis International Inc. is a biotechnology company that develops and
manufactures high performance pre-cast gels for the detection and separation of
proteins and nucleic acids. These pre-cast gels offer the researcher and
clinician a consistent, reliable and high quality medium for DNA sequencing and
protein separation testing. The Company is a leader in this rapidly growing
market and a key supplier of pre-cast gels to the leading manufacturers of
bio-instrumentation.

Statements in this press release that relate to matters that are not historic
fact are forward-looking statements that involve market risks and uncertainties
including, but not limited to, the ability of Zaxis International to develop



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and commercialize the products that are subject to this program and other risks
and uncertainties in the Company's Securities and Exchange filings.




Contacts:

Zaxis International Inc.
John Russo
Tel: (440) 888-2964
Fax: (440) 888-7307
E-mail: jrusso10@aol.com
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John Hrobsky
President & CEO
Zaxis International Inc.
Tel: (330) 650-0444
Fax: (330) 650-2024