Costa Rica as a comprehensive solution for Medical Device manufacturers, hosts a robust ecosystem for the next wave of Life Sciences companies in the industry, with 81 MedTech multinational companies that research, design and produce solutions to save human lives around the world. This hub of major players has attracted hundreds of national and international contractors and suppliers for packaging, molding and extrusion, along with electronic components and assembly, sterilization and more, creating ideal business conditions for OEM companies.

Thanks to the country’s strategic location, Costa Rica has become the preferred destination in Latin America for investment companies seeking to install new operations or expand current ones. This in turn has brought an increase in the number of medical device exports from Costa Rica to the world.

Investors have given credit to the country’s political stability and high level of education as well as the incentives offered by the Free Trade Zone Regime.

The Medical Device industry in Costa Rica has expanded and diversified, with a steady growth and sophistication in the devices. This industry is continuously evolving and has gone from producing Class I to Class III medical devices. In addition, it has seen the growth of R&D departments, including aesthetics, cardiovascular, dental, endoscopy, medication delivery systems, neuro-endovascular, neuromodulation, optics, orthopedics, sports medicine, surgical & diagnostic components, which now serve markets in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Costa Rica among world’s biggest exporters of medical devices

The evolution of the MedTech industry in our country has brought an important growth in and impact to several areas such as qualified employment, technology development and Medical Device exports, all of them improving Costa Rica’s economy.

More recently, the Life Sciences industry has become a strategic sector for Costa Rica, and it continues experiencing important dynamism. It has been the number one exporter in the country since 2018 and has a strong economic and social impact. This is illustrated by the fact that it went from generating 1,500 jobs and producing US$288 million in 2000 to more than 38,000 jobs and US$3.8 trillion in exports in 2020.

A strong supplier and contractor network for the MedTech and advanced manufacturing industries is already up and running in the country, and it complies with all international quality specifications that support high-tech multinational companies in several of their core processes, making Costa Rica an ideal location for business growth.

Medical Device exports have become the most important manufacturing sector in the country, and Coyol Free Zone accounts for 58% of it, reporting more than US$2.071 million in 2019.

According to the World Bank 2018, Costa Rica is the top high-tech exporter in Latin America, and it is in the top 5 cities in the world for Cost-Effectiveness in business, ranked by the Global Cities of the Future, fDI Intelligence 2018/2019.

Source: CINDE