Environmental Scan 2017: Human Capital Issues within the Medical Devices Sector
Benchmarked Countries
Description
to attract 47 MedTech projects over a five-year period and
specifically stood out in 2012 by attracting 18 Medtech
investments
Costa Rica is also the second largest exporter of medical
devices in Latin America and among the top 7 suppliers to
the United States.
Government Incentives
One of the strongest driver for new investments in Costa Rica
is the 100% tax exemptions which foreign investors enjoy.
The 100% tax exemptions covers the following:
o Custom duties on imports/exports
o Withholding tax on royalties and fees
o Interest income
o Sales tax on local purchases of goods/services
o Stamp duty
Medical device companies like Microvention Inc and Terumo
Corp have set up operations in Costa Rice to capitalise on
these tax initiatives.
Talent Development Initiative
Medical Device Innovation Program
o This program is in partnership with Costa Rica
Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) targeting
university students. The aim of this program is to
enable graduate students to learn and implement
new strategies related to product development,
understanding clinical regulations and learning
the art of marketing new medical devices.
International Master’s Degree in Medical Devices
Engineering
o A Master’s degree program specifically to
further strengthen the quality of graduates in
the medical device space. This program is in
collaboration between Instituto Tecnologico de
Costa Rica (TEC) + CINDE and University of
Minnesota in the US.
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South Korea
Overview
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