8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT


                     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

                         SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934


Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) JANUARY 30, 2001

                                  ABIOMED, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


          DELAWARE                   0-20584                  04-2743260
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(State or other jurisdiction       (Commission               IRS Employer
     of incorporation)             File Number)          Identification Number)


                              22 CHERRY HILL DRIVE
                          DANVERS, MASSACHUSETTS 01923
                          ----------------------------
          (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)


                                 (978) 777-5410
                                 --------------
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)


                                 Not Applicable
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         (Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)



ITEM 5.     OTHER EVENTS.

         The following exhibit is filed as part of this Report:

         Exhibit 99.9               Press Release dated January 30, 2001


         Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                 ABIOMED, INC.


                                 /s/ John F. Thero
                                 ----------------------------------
                                 Date: January 31, 2001
                                 By: John F. Thero
                                 Senior Vice President Finance and Treasurer

EX-99.9

                                                                  Exhibit 99.9



INVESTOR CONTACT:
John Thero
Chief Financial Officer
(978)777-5410

MEDIA CONTACT:
Edward E. Berger, Ph.D.
Vice President for Government and External Relations
(978)777-5410

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                       ABIOMED GETS O.K. FROM FDA TO BEGIN
                       HUMAN IMPLANTS OF ARTIFICIAL HEART

         DANVERS, MA, January 30, 2001--ABIOMED, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABMD), a leader in
heart assist and replacement technology, announced today that it has received
permission from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin the initial
clinical trial of its AbioCor(TM) Replacement Heart. The AbioCor, the world's
first implantable artificial heart, is intended as a destination therapy for
end-stage heart failure patients who are at risk of imminent death, are not
transplantable, and cannot be helped by other available therapies.

         The Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) granted by the FDA allows
for the implantation of the AbioCor in the first five patients of the clinical
trial. Success of the trial will be based upon periodic review of the survival
of AbioCor patients and their quality of life as measured by a variety of
assessment instruments previously validated for end stage heart failure
patients. FDA's letter authorizing the trial requires ABIOMED to respond to a
number of questions within 45 days, but initiation of the trial is not
contingent upon those responses.

         "This is a great day for everyone who has worked with so much
dedication and spirit to make the AbioCor a reality" said Dr. David M. Lederman,
ABIOMED's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Dozens and dozens of people
have been major contributors to ABIOMED's effort, under the leadership of Chief
Scientific Officer Dr. Robert T. V. Kung, Chief Regulatory Officer Janice T.
Piasecki, and AbioCor Program Director and Chief Engineering Officer William J.
Bolt. We will take a moment to celebrate, but only a moment. This FDA action
will further energize us as we make final preparations, at ABIOMED and at the
collaborating centers, for the initial human implants of the AbioCor."

         "Our IDE submission for the AbioCor clinical trial was extraordinarily
comprehensive," Dr. Lederman continued, "totaling thousands of pages of highly
technical material in eighteen volumes. It is a testimony to the commitment and
professionalism of the FDA staff that they reviewed this material, submitted to
them just before the December holiday, so quickly, thoroughly and expertly. Our
interactions with members of FDA's Office of Device Evaluation


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over the past several years have given us important direction in improving our
testing protocols and have thereby helped us to reach this landmark point in
AbioCor's development."

         "We have benefited immensely from the enthusiastic support and the many
contributions of all of our collaborating centers and the members of our Medical
Replacement Heart Advisory Board. Special mention needs to be made of Dr. O. H.
(Bud) Frazier of the Texas Heart Institute, who has lent his clinical insight to
the AbioCor program for over a decade. The team at Jewish Hospital in
Louisville, Kentucky, led by Dr. Laman A. Gray and Dr. Robert D. Dowling, has
made major contributions over the past three years to the advancement of our
preclinical testing program and to our current state of preparedness." He
concluded: "We thank and acknowledge the vital support and encouragement from
the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institutes, who have sponsored the
development of AbioCor since 1988."

         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. The Company's AbioCor implantable replacement heart is in an advanced
stage of development and preparing for initial human trials. ABIOMED currently
manufactures and sells the BVS(R), a temporary heart assist device, for the
support of all patients with failing but potentially recoverable hearts.

         The Company's AbioCor performance, timing and results may differ
materially based on a number of factors, including uncertainty of
successfully meeting product development milestones, manufacturing milestones
in light of complex manufacturing processes, obtaining and maintaining
regulatory approvals for clinical trials, ability to train the clinical teams
on a timely basis and to obtain IRB approvals from the participating
institutions, unproven markets for products under development, dependence on
key personnel, competition and technological change, uncertainty in the
ability to recruit required personnel on a timely basis, government
regulations, dependence on limited sources of supply, dependence on
third-party reimbursement, potential inadequacy of product liability
insurance, dependence on patents and proprietary rights 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. Readers 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.