The life sciences industry in Switzerland directly and indirectly employs about 135,000 people.[1] It contributes 5.7% of the gross domestic product of Switzerland and 30% of the country's exports.[1] In 2017 about 30% of Swiss exports (worth $84.8 billion) were chemical products.[2] In the same year Switzerland was the second largest exporter of packaged medicine in the world, with about 11% of the global total, worth $36.5 billion.[3]
Switzerland is home to many pharmaceutical companies, including very large groups, such as Novartis and Hoffmann-La Roche. In 2013, 41 life science companies had their international headquarters (and 29 more their regional headquarters) in Switzerland.[4][5]
History
edit- 1896: foundation of Hoffmann-La Roche.[6]
- 1933: foundation of Interpharma.
- 1950s: Cilag merged with Janssen Pharmaceutica, into Janssen-Cilag.
- 1996: Ciba-Geigy merged with Sandoz, with the pharmaceutical and agrochemical divisions of both staying together to form Novartis. Other Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz businesses were sold off, or, like Ciba Specialty Chemicals, were spun off as independent companies. The Sandoz brand disappeared for three years, but was revived in 2003 when Novartis consolidated its generic drugs businesses into a single subsidiary and named it Sandoz.
- 1990: Hoffmann-La Roche owned a majority of Genentech.[6] It was to be completely integrated in 2009.[6]
- 2000: Novartis divested its agrochemical and genetically modified crops business with the spinout of Syngenta, in partnership with AstraZeneca, which also divested its agrochemical business.
- 2023: Sandoz spun off from Novartis as a stand-alone company.[7]
Companies
editA number of life sciences companies are either headquartered in Switzerland or maintain regional headquarters in Switzerland:
| Company | Location | Canton | Divisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbott Laboratories | Basel |  Basel-Stadt | Established Pharmaceuticals Division |
| AC Immune | Lausanne |  Vaud | Global headquarters |
| Accuray | Morges, | Vaud | International headquarters |
| Acino Holding | Zürich |  Zürich | Global headquarters |
| Actelion, (Johnson & Johnson) | Allschwil |  Basel-Landschaft | Global headquarters |
| Alcon | Geneva |  Geneva | Global headquarters |
| Alexion Pharmaceuticals | Baar |  Zug | International headquarters |
| Amgen | Rotkreuz | Zug | European hub |
| AstraZeneca | Baar | Zug | International headquarters |
| Bachem | Bubendorf | Basel-Landschaft | Global headquarters |
| Basilea Pharmaceutica | Allschwil | Basel-Landschaft | Global headquarters |
| Baxter International | Zürich | Zürich | European headquarters |
| Bayer | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Consumer Health Division, Hemophilia & Ophthalmology Pharma Global HQ Divisions with some Oncology |
| Beckman Coulter | Nyon | Vaud | European and emerging markets headquarters |
| Becton Dickinson | Eysins | Vaud | European headquarters |
| Bio-Rad | Basel | Basel-Stadt | European headquarters |
| Biogen | Baar | Zug | International headquarters |
| Biognosys | Schlieren | Zürich | Global headquarters |
| Bristol Myers Squibb | Boudry |  Neuchâtel | Various global functions and global product supply Functions |
| Caris Life Sciences | Basel | Basel-Stadt | European headquarters |
| Cerbios-Pharma | Lugano |  Ticino | Global headquarters |
| Cochlear Limited | Basel | Basel-Stadt | European headquarters |
| Debiopharm | Lausanne | Vaud | Global headquarters |
| Edwards Lifesciences | Nyon | Vaud | European headquarters |
| Exact Sciences | Baar | Zug | International headquarters |
| Ferring Pharmaceuticals | Saint-Prex | Vaud | Pharmaceutical manufacturing site |
| Finox Biotech | Kirchberg |  Bern | Global headquarters |
| Galderma | Zug | Zug | Global headquarters |
| Galenica | Bern | Bern | Global headquarters |
| Genedata | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Global headquarters |
| GlaxoSmithKline | Münchenbuchsee | Bern | Local headquarters |
| Helsinn | Lugano | Ticino | Global headquarters |
| Hocoma | Volketswil | Zürich | Global headquarters |
| Idorsia | Allschwil | Basel-Landschaft | Global headquarters |
| Incyte | Morges | Vaud | European headquarters |
| InSphero | Schlieren | Zürich | Global headquarters |
| Intuitive Surgical | Aubonne | Vaud | European headquarters |
| Janssen-Cilag, (Johnson & Johnson) | Zug | Zug | Local headquarters |
| Lonza | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Global headquarters |
| Masimo | Neuchâtel | Neuchâtel | International headquarters |
| Medela | Baar | Zug | Global headquarters |
| Medtronic | Tolochenaz | Vaud | Europe & Central Asia headquarters |
| Moderna | Basel | Basel-Stadt | EMEA headquarters[8] |
| Molecular Partners | Schlieren | Zürich | Global headquarters |
| MSD | Lucerne |  Lucerne | Local headquarters and pharmaceutical manufacturing site |
| NBE-Therapeutics | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Global headquarters |
| Neovii Pharmaceuticals | Rapperswil |  St. Gallen | Global headquarters |
| NovaCurie | Bern | Bern | Global headquarters |
| Novartis | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Global headquarters |
| Novimmune | Geneva | Geneva | Global headquarters |
| Novo Nordisk | Zürich | Zürich | International operations |
| Octapharma | Lachen |  Schwyz | Global headquarters |
| OM Pharma | Meyrin | Geneva | Global headquarters |
| Roche | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Global headquarters |
| Sandoz | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Global headquarters |
| Santhera | Pratteln | Basel-Landschaft | Global headquarters |
| Seagen | Zug | Zug | European headquarters |
| Senn Chemicals | Dielsdorf | Zürich | Global headquarters |
| Siegfried Holding | Zofingen, Aargau |  Aargau | Global headquarters and manufacturing site |
| Sonova | Stäfa, Zürich | Zürich | Global headquarters |
| Sotio Biotech | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Local subsidiary |
| STAAR Surgical | Nidau | Bern | International headquarters |
| Straumann | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Global headquarters |
| Takeda Pharmaceutical | Zürich | Zürich | Europe & Canada business unit |
| Tecan | Männedorf | Zürich | Global headquarters |
| VAXIMM | Basel | Basel-Stadt | Global headquarters |
| CSL Vifor | St. Gallen | St. Gallen | Global headquarters |
| Ypsomed Holding | Burgdorf | Bern | Global headquarters |
Life sciences
edit70% of the investments in life sciences in Europe are made in the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland.[4][5]
In addition to pharmaceutical companies (65 companies), Switzerland is home to many companies in the fields of biotechnology (338 companies) or medical devices and technology (341 companies).[4][5] According to KPMG, there are 120 life science companies in Basel, 132 in Zürich and 92 in the Lemanic region.[4][5]
In 2013, 41 life science companies had their international headquarters (and 29 more their regional headquarters) in Switzerland.[4][5] In Switzerland, there are about 51,000 workers in the field of medical technologies (1,600 companies) and 13,700 on the field of biotechnologies.[9]
Hubs
editBasel region
editLemanic region
edit
According to L'Hebdo, there are 750 biotech and medtech companies (20,000 employees) in the Lemanic region.[10] Among them, 450 companies develop and/or produce drugs.[10] In addition to that, there are 500 laboratories from universities and university hospitals (in the Lemanic region).[10]
Statistics
editAs of 2023, some 350 companies were active in the pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland.[11]
As of 2024, some 56,000 people work in the pharmaceutical industry, mostly at large multinational companies such as Novartis, Roche or Sandoz. The sector also employs around 250,000 people indirectly.[11]
The pharma industry invests a third of the approximately CHF18 billion into R&D spent by the private sector as a whole (2023).[11]
In 2025, Switzerland exported some CHF100 billion worth of pharma products, or 22% of its total exports by value.[11]
In 2024, Switzerland exported pharma products stood behing behind Germany but ahead of the United States in terms of total value.[11]
In 2025, four drugs from Novartis and two from Roche were among the world’s 50 best-selling medicines.[11]
Novartis and Roche have agreed to invest billions of dollars to increase their production in the United States, following tense negociations with the Trump administration in 2026.[11]
See also
edit- Economy of Switzerland, List of companies of Switzerland
- Science and technology in Switzerland
- European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, List of pharmaceutical companies
- List of largest European manufacturing companies by revenue, List of largest manufacturing companies by revenue
- Life Sciences Switzerland
- Health Valley
- Healthcare in Switzerland
Notes and references
edit- 1 2 Stephan Vaterlaus, Stephan Suter and Barbara Fischer, "The Importance of the Pharmaceutical Industry for Switzerland" Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, A study undertaken on behalf of Interpharma, September 2011.
- ↑ Simoes, AJG; Hidalgo, CA. "OEC: The Observatory of Economic Complexity". oec.world. The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- ↑ Simoes, AJG; Hidalgo, CA. "OEC: Which countries export Packaged Medicaments? (2017)". oec.world. The Observatory of Economic Complexity. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Site Selection for Life Sciences Companies, European Life Sciences Cluster 2013 Report, KPMG (page visited on 4 November 2013).
- 1 2 3 4 5 (in French) Willy Boder, "La Suisse compétitive dans les sciences de la vie", Le Temps, Tuesday 5 November 2013, p. 15.
- 1 2 3 (in French) Willy Boder, "Le grand chambardement de la pharma", Le Temps, Monday 7 July 2014, page 17.
- ↑ Veyet, Tristan; Illien, Noele (4 October 2023). "Novartis completes Sandoz spinoff". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
- ↑ "Moderna: about us". (in German)
- 1 2 3 (in French) Dejan Nikolic, "Les sciences de la vie recrutent à Genève grâce à des ex-employés de Merck Serono", Le Temps, Tuesday 21 April 2015, page 13.
- 1 2 3 (in French) Health Valley Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, L'Hebdo, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Turuban, Pauline (17 June 2026). "Six charts show challenges facing Swiss pharmaceutical industry". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
Bibliography
edit- (in French) Karl Lüönd, Principe actif: la connaissance. Passé et présent de l'industrie pharmaceutique suisse, Interpharma and éditions Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 2008.
External links
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