Tacares de Grecia, Alajuela, Costa Rica – December 9, 2025 – Forj Medical, the newly formed CDMO created by the merger of Intricon and Minnetronix Medical, has announced that it has begun equipping its new 53,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Evolution Free Zone. The plant — the first of its kind in Costa Rica for custom electromagnetic sensors, biosensor devices, and microelectronic medical devices — is slated to begin staffing and operational ramp-up in early 2026.
Science Significance
This facility expansion advances the science of sensor-driven and microelectronic medical devices, enabling high-precision manufacturing of components such as electromagnetic sensors, biosensors, and microelectronic assemblies critical for applications in surgical navigation, electrophysiology, cardiovascular devices, drug delivery systems, and diabetes care. By integrating system design, microelectronics, precision molding and clean-room assembly under a single roof, Forj Medical enables tighter control of manufacturing variables, improved yield, and consistency — essential for high-performing, regulated medical devices that rely on miniaturization, sensor fidelity and bio-compatibility.
Regulatory Significance
Because Forj Medical’s new facility is structured to produce regulated medical devices using ISO-certified processes, the move has significant regulatory implications. A facility dedicated to clean-room assembly, microelectronics, and sensor device manufacturing helps OEMs meet stringent quality-management, traceability, and compliance requirements mandated by regulatory authorities globally. The vertical integration from design to volume production reduces supply-chain fragmentation, which in turn supports compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), device-history record maintenance, and regulatory audits — boosting confidence among regulators, OEMs, and downstream users.
Business Significance
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The expansion under Forj Medical reflects strategic business growth and consolidation in the contract manufacturing market for medical devices. By merging Intricon and Minnetronix Medical, the company now offers end-to-end CDMO capabilities — from concept and design through prototyping and large-scale manufacturing — across its global network (U.S., Asia, and now Costa Rica). The new Costa Rica site gives OEMs access to cost-efficient, scalable, and geographically diversified production capacity in a region with competitive cost and favorable regulatory/investment conditions. This enhances supply-chain resilience, reduces time-to-market for complex medical devices, and positions Forj Medical to capture demand across key market segments such as diabetes care, surgical energy, vascular devices, drug delivery and advanced optics.
Patients’ Significance
For patients, the ramp-up at Forj Medical’s new facility promises faster availability of advanced medical devices, potentially at lower cost. Devices manufactured from this plant — including biosensors, minimally invasive sensor-driven implants, drug-delivery devices and cardiovascular systems — may reach markets more quickly, enabling earlier access to innovative treatments and therapies. Improved manufacturing quality, reliability and scalability also reduce risk of device failure or supply shortages, which directly benefits patient safety and continuity of care.
Policy Significance
The launch of this specialized medtech manufacturing hub in Costa Rica underscores shifting global policies toward diversified, resilient global supply chains for critical medical technologies. It supports national and regional policy goals around medical device export, local job creation, foreign investment incentives (Free Zones), and building a robust life-sciences manufacturing ecosystem. For regulatory and trade policymakers, Forj Medical’s investment could catalyze further growth in Latin America’s med-tech sector — prompting incentives, infrastructure support, and regulatory frameworks to facilitate high-quality device manufacturing in emerging regions.
Forj Medical’s decision to launch a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Costa Rica marks a significant milestone in the global medtech landscape — blending design, microelectronics, precision molding, and clean-room assembly to deliver next-generation medical devices at scale. As the company begins recruiting and equipping the site for operations in 2026, the move reinforces the value of integrated CDMO models for accelerating innovation, ensuring regulatory compliance, and enhancing global supply-chain resilience. For patients, OEMs and healthcare systems alike, this expansion could herald faster access to advanced, sensor-driven medical technologies — reshaping the future of device-based care worldwide.
Source: Forj Medical press release
