Switchback Medical Expands its Global Manufacturing Capabilities

Switchback Medical is broadening its operations.

The medical device contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) has signed a lease for a new 18,000-square-foot facility in the Coyol Free Trade Zone in Costa Rica in a significant expansion of its global manufacturing and development capabilities. The site will include a 3,500-square-foot cleanroom.

The facility is designed to support medical device component manufacturing with the ability to expand capabilities over time. Development and product transfers will start immediately, followed by manufacturing and ISO 13485 certification later this year. Switchback will be supporting both existing customer programs and new development initiatives.

The Coyol facility represents the first phase of Switchback’s broader Costa Rica strategy, with a second, larger site planned in the Evolution Free Trade Zone, expected to open next year. Together, these facilities will create a scalable footprint to support near-term manufacturing demand and long-term growth, according to company executives.

“Our Coyol facility allows us to quickly deliver critical components such as extrusions, braided shafts, and more, while we continue building out our Evolution facility, which will serve as our top-level assembly production site in Costa Rica,” Switchback Medical CEO Brady Hatcher said. “Together, these capabilities enable us to support customers from early development through full-scale manufacturing, both locally and globally.”

This expansion reflects a strategic investment in Costa Rica’s growing medtech ecosystem, offering Free Trade Zone benefits, a skilled workforce, and proximity to both U.S. markets and local customers. Driven by increasing demand for scalable manufacturing and R&D/PD support, the new facility will enhance Switchback’s ability to support development programs and high-volume production while improving cost efficiency for customers.

Switchback will leverage its design expertise to provide quick-turn development support for in-country R&D and PD teams in Costa Rica, helping to accelerate innovation within the region’s growing medtech sector. By combining responsive development capabilities with scalable manufacturing, Switchback is positioned to support customers earlier in the product lifecycle—an approach that sets it apart from traditional manufacturing-focused operations in the region.

Over the next decade, the Coyol and Evolution facilities are expected to expand Switchback’s role in interventional device manufacturing, supporting additional development programs, manufacturing transfers, and scaled production. The expansion will initially focus on thermoplastic extrusion and precision components, with future plans to expand into advanced extrusion technologies and full device production.

Switchback offers single-source solutions for contract design and manufacturing needs. From component design and manufacturing to full device packaging and sterilization, Switchback simplifies the supply chain to reduce development costs and overall time to market. The firm serves all minimally invasive interventional device markets and has special interests and capabilities in neurovascular and structural heart applications. Design and manufacturing capabilities are not limited to, but include balloon catheters, complex delivery systems, and biomedical textile devices.