NEWS
Life Sciences Forum 2016: Costa Rica will host a World Class Event for the Life Sciences Industry
SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, Sept. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- 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. It will have exposition space for 53 companies and key providers in the industry.
The event will be held on October 9th and 10th at Hotel Intercontinental, 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.
Those interested in registering as participants in the forum can still do so on the web page
www.lifesciencescr.com
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.
According to Alexander Mora, Minister of Foreign Trade, holding the event "will result in strengthening the country's image by showing the advantages and the potential that Costa Rica offers for establishing operations in the Life Sciences industry, thanks to the truly consolidated ecosystem that has been developed, and which combines multinational companies, academics and excellent-quality providers, allowing optimal conditions for companies that establish themselves in Costa Rica so that they can grow and successfully export their products to the rest of the world.
He also pointed out that Costa Rica's Law of Biomedical Research is duly regulated, thus it opens a wide range of possibilities for research and development in the country. "The Law is a very strong public political piece to also stimulate a series of medical investigative activities in the country, and it serves as a tie to establish the foundation of a productive life sciences ecosystem in which medical device manufacturing industries, research and development activities, and a series of sophisticated and complex services of extremely high aggregated value and scientific interest interact. To support this ecosystem, in the foreign trade area we work with a group of high-technology and scientifically based companies, in the Research andamp; Development Council, which complements the efforts and which works a great deal in the private production sector," the Minister concluded.
The complete schedule for the event can be found at the hyperlink
With annual exports exceeding US$ 2 billion dollars, medical devices as the country's main industrial export product and more than 19,000 employees working for the sector, the goal of this event is to collaborate in global market analysis of the medical industry and Costa Rica's potential to play a key role in that industry.
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.
This event is taking place thanks to the support of companies such as Coyol Free Zone, a diamond sponsor of LSF 2016. In addition, La Lima Free Zone andamp; Business Park, Fedex, Kelpac Medical, Vital Med inc., Apollo Medical Extrusion, are platinum sponsors, and Boston Scientific, Contec, MicroTechnologies, BAC, The Green Park Free Zone and ThermoFisher Scientific, are gold sponsors.
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Speakers
Mr. Alexander Mora, Minister of Foreign Trade.
Opening Remarks by Mrs. Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría, Vice President of Costa Rica, and Jorge Sequeira, Managing Director of CINDE
Keynote Opening Address: “What Does the Future Hold for Life Sciences?
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Kristin Pothier, Partner and Managing Director, Global Head at Parthenon-EY Life Sciences
Session Title: “Device Innovation: Patient Driven or Technology Driven?”
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Michael Fisher - Director of Product Development at the Global Center for Medical Innovation
Session Title: “3D Printing and the future of Medtech Manufacturing”
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Andy Miller, VP of Devices, ELEVATE, LLC.
Session Title: “Innovative Materials in Medical Devices”
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Dr. Alvaro Mata, Director of the Institute of Bioengineering Queen Mary University of London.
Session Title: “Developing first-in-class medical devices through collaboration with engineering firms”
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Michael Pereira, Executive Vice President Technology andamp; Operations Ximedica
Session Title: “Managing Cost While Ensuring Quality and Safety”
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Moderator: Matt Szhuhaj - Director at Deloitte Consulting LLP
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Javier Gómez - Site Manager at St. Jude Medical, Costa Rica
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Isaías González - Site Manager at Hospira, Costa Rica
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Jorge Perera - Operations VP andamp; General Manager at Boston Scientific, Costa Rica.
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Salvador Dada –COO at Establishment Labs.
Session Title: “Boosting Randamp;D outcomes in Medical Device Research through academic-industry collaboration”
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Eric Richardson, Director, Global Medical Innovation (GMI) track in the Master of Bioengineering (M.B.E.) program, Rice University.
Session Title: “Finding the cure: Opportunities for Conducting Clinical Trials in Latin America”
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Dr. Ana Lilia Camelo, Therapeutic Area Leader for Oncology, ROCHE Latin America.
Session Title: “Delivering a Forward-Thinking Supply Chain”
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Diane Diebeman, Director of Global Sourcing at Allergan.
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Todd McCaslin, Global Sourcing Director at Boston Scientific Corporation
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