ABIOMED Announces Collaborative Agreement With the Rabin Medical Center in Israel.

Business/Technology Editors & Health/Medical Writers

DANVERS, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--March 16, 2000

- First International Center to

Begin Pre-clinical Readiness Demonstration Tests With AbioCor(TM)

Implantable Replacement Heart -

ABIOMED, Inc., (NASDAQ: ABMD) today announced that it has reached a collaborative agreement with the Rabin Medical Center, Petach-Tikva, Israel, with the objective of demonstrating device and team readiness of ABIOMED's AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart in preparation for human trials. Under the collaborative agreement, the Rabin team, led by Drs. Jacob Barak and Bernardo A. Vidne, will work with ABIOMED to demonstrate readiness for initial human trials of the AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart.

The Rabin Medical Center is the first of a select number of esteemed heart cardiac surgery centers outside the U.S. to begin device and team readiness training for initial human trials with the battery-powered AbioCor Heart. The Israeli team joins five U.S. teams selected for initial AbioCor clinical trials in the U.S., subject to regulatory approvals.

The AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart is a medical device intended to replace a patient's diseased heart and take over its pumping function. It is designed for use by patients with irreparably damaged hearts who are at risk of imminent death, but whose other viable organs remain viable.

Commenting on the collaboration, Dr. David M. Lederman, ABIOMED's Chairman and CEO said, "We are delighted that this renown medical center and its distinguished medical team have joined our efforts to clinically introduce the world's first implantable replacement heart. The addition of the Rabin Medical Center to the list of medical centers with which we are collaborating reflects our desire to be prepared to commence clinical use of the device to save lives not just in the U.S. but throughout the world."

Dr. Jacob Yahav, Director of the Beilinson Campus of the Rabin Medical Center, said, "this collaborative research has the potential to substantially advance the field of heart surgery, and will allow us, in the foreseeable future, to provide patients with a much needed life-saving therapy."

Based in Danvers, Massachusetts, ABIOMED, Inc. is a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical products designed to assist or replace the pumping function of failing hearts. The Company's AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart is in an advanced stage of development and undergoing testing in preparation for initial human clinical trials. ABIOMED currently manufactures and sells the BVS(R), a heart assist device, for the temporary support of patients with failing but recoverable hearts.

Based in Petach-Tikva, Israel, Rabin Medical Center is a public hospital of Clalit Health Services and affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine of Tel-Aviv University. Rabin Medical Center is a leading international medical center for cardiothoracic surgery and the largest such center in Israel performing over 1,500 open-heart surgeries, as well as heart transplantation and other advanced cardiac procedures, on both adults and children each year.

This News Release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the development and timing of the AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart. The Company's actual results, events or performance, including timing of AbioCor clinical trials and related results, may differ materially based on a number of factors, including: uncertainties associated with development, testing and related regulatory approvals, complex manufacturing, high quality requirements, dependence on limited sources of supply, competition, technology change, U.S. and International government regulations, and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors are cautioned that all such statements involve risks and uncertainties. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these 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 after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.