Essential News

San Jose, Costa Rica, November 2, 2017 - Edwards Lifesciences Corporation the global leader in patient-focused innovations for structural heart disease and critical care monitoring, today announced it is investing $100 million for its expansion plans in Costa Rica.

The company, headquartered in California, United States, develops and manufactures heart valves that are utilized in the treatment of patients with heart diseases all over the world. The company has been operating in Cartago's Free Zone La Lima since 2016, and now has more than 200 employees in the country. Up to date, from Cartago, the company supports the manufacturing process of heart valves that is carried out in other Edwards Lifesciences facilities located in the United States and other nations.

The expansion underway in Costa Rica, considers the construction of a new manufacturing plant, and is part of Edwards’ global plans for its heart valve operations that initiated last year. The new plant is expected to enable the manufacturing of heart valve devices, from start to finish, in other words, they will be totally manufactured in Costa Rica and thereafter exported and used in medical centers around the world.

The Vice President of Costa Rica, Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría, commented "it makes us very proud when a company decides to expand its operations, as it shows the trust that we have earned as a country. We are also pleased that more and more companies consider, as part of their decisions, the skills and professionalism of our people; this encourages us to continue supporting our people and re-affirming that, in their well-being and in solidarity, we can offer companies a fertile field in order to grow together."

"Since we established operations in Costa Rica last year, we have appreciation for the excellent business and political environment to help develop our operations. This good experience, along with the excellent workforce we found, has supported our decision to proceed with our plans to build a modern, state-of-the-art heart valve manufacturing facility in Costa Rica to support our long-term growth aspirations," said Michael Mussallem, Chairman and CEO of Edwards Lifesciences worldwide. In order to progress with the expansion plans, ground movements have recently begun on a new site that will have approximately 20,000mts2, and is expected to be fully operating in 2020. The current production plant will continue to run parallel to the new one, as part of a strategy to smoothly build long-term capabilities.

"With a positive foundation from our initial experience in the country and with expectations for continued success in the future, Edwards expects to grow and expand its operations in Costa Rica. We are proud of our employees and the passion they have shown for our patient-centered work in their time over the last year with Edwards, and we are also proud to be contributing to the local community through a number of special charitable projects," Mussallem added.

The Minister of Foreign Trade, Alexander Mora, said: "The medical technology sector represents one of the main driving forces of the Costa Rican economy. In addition to energizing the industrial sector, it gradually increases its market share in the services sector. More and more medical technology companies are carrying out research and development projects, as well as innovation initiatives in Costa Rica. The companies in this sector are one

of the main exporters. In this context, Edwards Lifesciences has been constantly growing in Costa Rica, taking advantage of the positive investment climate as well as the productive incentives in the free zone regime. With just one year of operating locally, they have found the conditions and talent they require for the manufacture of their products, characterized by high levels of complexity, sophistication and quality. We are pleased to know that the company will invest 100 million dollars in the expansion of its local operations. From our side, we will double our efforts to maintain the competitive conditions that allow the company to strengthen its roots and continue to grow with Costa Rica."

Thanks to the construction of the new site and the interest in expanding operations, the company plans to increase the number of employees by hiring more than 1,000 additional employees over the next several years. Mainly, vacancies will be opened for operators, supervisors, trainers and process engineers, quality control, logistics, finance, engineers in facilities and maintenance, among others. These workers will be responsible for the site’s operation.

"Edwards Lifesciences came to Costa Rica to grow hand in hand with all Costa Ricans, giving a special source of employment to the population of Cartago and its neighboring towns. From Costa Rica, we are very proud that we are contributing now and in the future to the development of our life-saving products that help patients all around the world," said Josué Campos, General Manager of Edwards Lifesciences in Costa Rica. Several representatives of the government, including the Costa Rica’s Vice President, Ana Helena Chacon, participated today in an event laying the foundation stone for the construction of the new Edwards Lifesciences facilities in Costa Rica.

According to CINDE, Costa Rica has emerged as a leading global destination for investment in Medical Technology, currently attracting more than 70 companies of this type to the country. The good positioning of Costa Rica in this industry has even allowed that 6 of the 10 most important companies in the cardiovascular sector in the world, have chosen Costa Rica to install their manufacturing plants.

Jorge Sequeira, CINDE's Managing Director, said "The life sciences sector is one of the most dynamic in terms of exports. CINDE estimates that medical technology, the country's main industrial good export, will reach US$3,000 million by end-2017. Today Costa Rica, thanks to companies like Edwards, has positioned itself as the second largest exporter of medical technology in Latin America.

Those interested in applying to a job vacancy within Edwards Lifesciences in Costa Rica can do so by sending their Curriculum Vitae to the following e-mail address:

reclutamientocr@edwards.com

Recruitment for new positions is expected to commence in mid-2018.

About Edwards Lifesciences

Edwards Lifesciences, based in Irvine, Calif., is the global leader in patient-focused medical innovations for structural heart disease, as well as critical care and surgical monitoring. Driven by a passion to help patients, the company collaborates with the world's leading clinicians and researchers to address unmet healthcare needs, working to improve patient outcomes and enhance lives. For more information, visit www.Edwards.com and follow us on Twitter @EdwardsLifesci

This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected future operations in Costa Rica. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by management of the company and are believed to be reasonable, though they are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the

date on which they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of the statement.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from t