Danvers, MA and Chicago, January 23, 2006—ABIOMED, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABMD), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical products designed to assist or replace the pumping function of the failing heart, today announced the showcase of its FDA approved AB5000™ Circulatory System at the 42nd Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Conference being held at McCormick Place in Chicago, from January 30-February 1, 2006. ABIOMED will occupy booth #106 at the STS Conference.

The AB5000 provides temporary support for one or both sides of the natural heart in circumstances where the heart has failed, giving the patient's heart the opportunity to rest and potentially recover - and giving surgeons the therapeutic flexibility necessary to determine the best endpoint for treatment. The AB5000 and ABIOMED's BVS® 5000 are the only devices approved by the FDA for the recovery of the natural heart. ABIOMED's AbioCor® Implantable Replacement heart, which is not yet FDA-approved and not for use in the U.S., will also be on display at the STS Conference.

At this internationally attended meeting, ABIOMED will also display its Impella Recover® LP 2.5 and 5.0 which are available in Europe under the CE Mark and are investigational in the United States. The Impella Recover 2.5 and 5.0 are the world's smallest, minimally invasive, high performance micro-blood pumps. They utilize integrated motors and sensors for use in interventional cardiology and cardiovascular surgery. An incision in the leg allows these devices to be inserted percutaneously into patients, similar to a standard angioplasty procedure, in order to help restore blood flow.

"ABIOMED continues to broaden and enhance its suite of advanced medical devices designed to provide circulatory care options for our customers," said Christopher Macdonald, Senior Vice President of Global Sales for ABIOMED. "We have made significant progress in expanding our global sales and clinical teams, and are excited to bring the CE-Marked Impella devices to our European-based interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons."

ABIOMED senior management, key scientists and engineers will host dinner meetings on January 29th through February 1st with leading physicians and customers to discuss the Company's advanced technologies and market driven solutions. STS attendees interested in participating in these dinner roundtable discussions should contact Elena Kfoury at 978-646-1520 or ekfoury@abiomed.com.

ABOUT ABIOMED
Based in Danvers, Massachusetts, ABIOMED, Inc. (pronounced "AB'-EE-O-MED") is a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical products designed to assist or replace the pumping function of the failing heart. ABIOMED currently manufactures and sells the AB5000™ Circulatory Support System and the BVS® 5000 Biventricular Support System for the temporary support of all patients with failing but potentially recoverable hearts. In Europe, ABIOMED offers the Impella® Recover™ minimally invasive cardiovascular support systems under CE Mark approval. The Company's AbioCor® Implantable Replacement Heart was the subject of an initial clinical trial under an Investigational Device Exemption from the United States Food and Drug Administration. The AbioCor has not been approved for commercial distribution, and is not available for use or sale outside of the initial clinical trial. For additional information please visit: www.abiomed.com.

Media Contact:
Liza Heapes
ABIOMED, INC.
Media Relations
(978) 646-1668
mediarelations@abiomed.com

Daniel Sutherby
ABIOMED, INC.
Chief Financial Officer
(978) 646-1812
ir@abiomed.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding development of ABIOMED's existing and new products, the Company's progress toward commercial growth, and future opportunities. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements based upon a number of factors, including uncertainties associated with development, testing and related regulatory approvals, anticipated future losses, complex manufacturing, high quality requirements, dependence on limited sources of supply, competition, technological change, government regulation, future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing and other risks and challenges detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report filed on Form 10-K. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this Release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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