(QCOSTARICA) — For the third time, Costa Rica will host the largest Latin American forum in the Life Sciences field: the Life Sciences Forum 2016, an event organized by the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE).
The forum will gather some 350 international and national participants who will analyze the main trends in the life sciences industry, and explore Costa Rica’s potential in one of the sectors with the greatest strategic positioning in recent years.
Among the speakers at the event are: Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría, Vice President of Costa Rica;Alexander Mora, Minister of Foreign Trade; Jorge Perera, Operations VP & General Manager Boston Scientific, Costa Rica; and Kristin Pothier, Partner and Managing Director, Global Head Parthenon-EY Life Sciences.
It will have exposition space for 53 companies and key providers in the industry.
The event will be held on October 9 and 10 at Real InterContinental Hotel in Escazu, across from Multiplaza, with presentations in areas such as: device innovation, 3D printing and the future of medical manufacturing, innovative materials in medical devices, opportunities for clinical investigations in Latin America and the future of the life sciences sector, among other topics, to be presented by international conference speakers and prestigious specialists from universities in Europe, the United States, and representatives from the main companies in the life sciences sector worldwide.
For Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director at CINDE, the Life Sciences Forum 2016 is a platform from which the country can position itself even more prominently as a reference in the life sciences industry on a global scale.
“For the third time, Costa Rica will put on the most important event in Latin America in the Life Sciences field. This shows us the importance and recognition that the country has acquired in recent years in one of the most buoyant international industries. For this edition we will have foreign and domestic panelists who will thoroughly analyze what will be happening in the coming years, from manufacturing to matters related to investigation and development.”
According to CINDE data, over the last five years the country attracted 47 investment projects in this sector, coming in seventh place in a global ranking in terms of number of projects initiated in the sector, according to Oxford Intelligence.
Costa Rica is currently the second-largest exporter of medical devices in the Latin American region, housing more than 60 companies in the sector, including five of the ten largest companies in the global cardiovascular industry.
