Contract manufacturers fuel medtech expansion in Costa Rica

How contract manufacturer Minnetronix Medical decided to make its own medical device

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How PhysIQ is advancing digital therapeutics through its partnership with Janssen

3 ways medtech suppliers are adapting to a new world

As the summer sun shines upon us, we’re getting a clearer view of the outlines of the post-pandemic world in the medtech supplier space. What we’re seeing is an industry valuing three qualities — bigger, closer and different.

I say bigger because, well, the suppliers are simply larger. Writing this editorial in late June, I just finished posting an article about how private equity firm Summit Partners has acquired Ximedica, Quartesian and Boston Healthcare Associates — rolling them into a new medtech service giant called Veranex. (And we’re beginning to hear the same thing is happening in product development firms as well. Check out Delve and Bresslergroup.)

We’re seeing an acceleration of an M&A trend from the last couple of years. Following a flurry of mergers, we can name many company names that didn’t exist a decade ago: Integer, Spectrum Plastics Group, and so much more. I suspect Veranex will not be the last name added to the list.

Next to size, proximity also matters. The pandemic taught manufacturers a hard lesson about the fragility of global supply chains, something they were already considering amid the U.S.-China trade war of recent years. The situation has them looking closer to home for lower-cost manufacturing locations.

This issue’s cover story is about an increasingly popular location for medtech suppliers to set up shop: Costa Rica. The Central American country sits in the same time zone as parts the U.S., it’s stable, and it boasts a healthy, educated workforce.

With apologies to Apple, contract manufacters also are beginning to think – and act – different. Our DeviceTalks editorial director Tom Salemi, for example, writes about how executives at St. Paul, Minn.–based Minnetronix Medical looked to fill midmarket gaps by creating their own medical devices, first in the neurovascular space.

As you’ll read, the company’s CEO says the process not only provided Minnetronix engineers deeper insights on innovation, but the devices themselves will help the CMO forge tighter connections with OEMs that want to sell the device.

Medtech suppliers also boosted their support of startups in the industry as they formally set up incubators and accelerators. As we (hopefully) leave the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, I think there are exciting times ahead for the medical device industry and the companies serving it.

There’s also a change afoot here at Medical Design & Outsourcing. Nancy Crotti has decided it’s time to retire. Nancy took over MDO as managing editor in late 2019 and brought it to new heights amid the pandemic. We’ll miss her clear writing, insights and overall good humor.

Meanwhile, the search is well underway for a new MDO managing editor, so stay tuned.

Chris Newmarker
Executive Editor
Medical Design & Outsourcing
cnewmarker@wtwhmedia.com