DANVERS, Mass. (July 11, 2005)—ABIOMED, Inc. (NASDAQ: ABMD) a manufacturer of products for circulatory care and support, today announced the appointment of Jim Dillon, Vice President, Eastern U.S. Sales, and Geoffrey Heldoorn, Vice President, Western U.S. Sales. The pair brings a breadth of medical device and surgical technology sales experience to the company, with focused expertise in working with cardiologists and cardiac surgeons.

"ABIOMED is fortunate to have attracted such high-caliber sales managers with significant experience in marketing devices for cardiology and surgery," commented Michael R. Minogue, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of ABIOMED. "Jim and Geoff will both play critical roles in the expansion of ABIOMED's U.S. sales and marketing activities, aiding in the execution of our business model as we continue to expand our clinical product portfolio."

Jim Dillon joins ABIOMED from VNUS Medical Technologies where he most recently served as Eastern Sales Director. He has more than 18 years of experience in the medical device industry in a wide array of surgical specialties. Dillon has been involved with four highly successful medical device companies focused in part or entirely on cardiology; VNUS Medical Technologies, Perclose, Heart Technologies and Devices for Vascular Intervention. He has served in various roles of business development and sales management during his career and has continually earned recognition as a prominent sales person and sales manager in the medical device industry.

Throughout his career, Dillon has been intimately involved with the initial product development of new proprietary technologies, establishing domestic sales forces and implementing the training programs which become the model for success within global sales organizations. He has served as the primary interface between physician advisors and engineering teams for the clinical development and trials of emerging products and their iterative development. Dillon graduated from Fairfield University in Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Geoffrey Heldoorn also joins ABIOMED from VNUS Medical Technologies where he most recently served as Regional Sales Director for the West. He has more than 20 years of healthcare industry sales experience and has been affiliated with Datascope Corporation, B. Braun Cardiovascular, and Codman and Shurtleff, a Johnson & Johnson company. The device markets he was focused on were interventional cardiology, open heart surgery, and vascular surgery. He held various positions in sales and management at these companies and was consistently ranked among the top sales managers in his region.

Heldoorn has experience hiring and training new regional managers, driving business to achieve company revenue goals and fostering close relationships with key industry opinion leaders. He has worked to introduce new proprietary surgical products while also consulting on marketing and reimbursement. He also has international experience managing distributors in Japan. Heldoorn graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry.

Additionally, ABIOMED has recently added three more sales representatives in the U.S. to capitalize on the recovery market.

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. The Company’s AbioCor® Implantable Replacement Heart is the subject of an initial clinical trial being conducted 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

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