Manufactured by Shockwave Medical in Coyol Free Zone

  • The company is a pioneer in the development of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) to treat severe vascular calcifications.
  • It is in the process of starting its manufacturing operations, and plans to hire +300 people in the next year.

September. In order to improve the lives of patients around the world, Shockwave Medical is focused on the development and commercialization of products aimed at transforming the way vascular calcifications are treated.

Shockwave Medical aims to establish a new standard of care for the interventional treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease through the differentiated and patented local delivery of a catheter that generates acoustic waves for the treatment of calcified plaque, to which the company refers as intravascular lithotripsy (IVL). IVL is a minimally invasive, easy to use, and safe way to significantly improve patient outcomes.

This innovative device will be manufactured in Coyol Free Zone, Alajuela, by Shockwave Medical, a company that selected Costa Rica due to, among other reasons, the high education of its labor force, the knowledge and experience in the medical industry (especially in catheter manufacturing), the political stability and legal security, as well as the country’s commitment to nature.

Enrique Saborío, CEO and Vice President of Operations of Shockwave in Costa Rica explained that “the country has important features for the manufacture of medical devices. Costa Rica has a workforce that stands out in the world. A very competitive and specialized labor force, with an extraordinary capacity to assemble very small components using high resolution microscopes, and with very high precision” explained Saborío.

Companies engaged in heart care in Coyol Free Zone

Shockwave Medical is one of the six companies located in Coyol Free Zone, Costa Rica’s leading medical device export park, engaged in the manufacture and/or production of heart care equipment and technologies.

These companies, which have chosen Costa Rica as their headquarters to export to the rest of the world, now generate more than 10,800 direct jobs, or 49% of the Park’s workforce.

On the occasion of World Heart Day, which is observed this 29th of September, Carlos Wong, Managing Director of Coyol Free Zone, explained that the use of technology in the field of medical devices is transforming the way in which diseases such as heart disease are diagnosed and treated.

“These innovations improve medical care and save lives worldwide. Coyol Free Zone offers an optimal ecosystem with competent, skilled and knowledgeable human talent in the innovation of the cardiovascular market”, Wong explained.

  • Abbott:Three manufacturing plants engaged in improving cardiac health through the manufacture of devices such as ablation catheters, heart valves, dilation catheters, cardiac occlusion devices and guidewires.
  • Cardinal Health::Post-operative blood circulation equipment and dialysis catheters.
  • Confluent Medical:Manufacture of medical products, such as Nitinol-based stents and guide wires, as well as products such as balloons and catheters.
  • Phillips: Manufacture of catheters that have the ability to generate an intravascular image to diagnose obstructions in the coronary arteries and peripheral areas of the blood system. In addition, it manufactures guide wires that measure the blood pressure of obstructed coronary arteries, allowing the physician to make the best treatment decision for the patient.
  • Theragenics:It manufactures and distributes cardiovascular access medical devices, primarily catheters and dilators.
  • Shockwave Medical:It manufactures intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) to treat severe diseases caused by calcification.

About Coyol Free Zone

Coyol Free Zone is the leading medical device export park in Costa Rica, exporting more than US$2 billion a year, which is equivalent to 30% of the exports of the manufacturing segment of the Free Zone Regime in the country.
For four years, it has been part of the Top 10 Free Trade Zones in the World and was designated as the Best Free Trade Zone in the Americas, in the Top 10 worldwide and Honorable Mention for Environmental Practices, Infrastructure and Logistics, by fDi Intelligence in 2022.
It is also the Best Free Trade Zone in Latin America and the Caribbean for the fourth consecutive year, the Most Innovative Free Trade Zone of the Year and the Best Business Center for Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing, according to The European magazine.