Editorial Swiss Biotech Report 2025

Michael Altorfer
Chief Executive Officer, Swiss Biotech Association

None of the Swiss biotech innovators develops a new product or technology for the Swiss market alone. To drive successful R&D projects they must present a compelling global business case to attract the interest of investors and international talent alike. Product development cycles typically extend over 10-15 years, the attrition rate is huge, and the required funding usually exceeds CHF 1 billion. Such high risk and long-term projects can only be justified if they have the potential to generate novel treatment options that benefit patients all over the world.

Switzerland has a long tradition of developing innovative products in close collaboration with strong international partners, thereby providing effective solutions to global challenges. In such alliances, the objective is not to be the most competitive collaboration partner, but to be able to make a valuable contribution to common objectives. To be successful, like-minded and complementary partners team up and strive to achieve mutual goals that benefit all the parties involved. This approach is so firmly anchored in the Swiss biotech hub that four out of five biotech patents filed in Switzerland are the result of close international collaborations (see Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property article, Page 18). At the same time, Switzerland has assembled a diverse and international talent pool that strongly facilitates global exchange of experience and best practices.

This year, the Swiss innovation agency Innosuisse will assume the chairmanship of the Eureka innovation initiative, an international alliance which comprises 47 countries along with the European Commission. In this capacity, Innosuisse will have the opportunity to help further strengthen and expand this nondilutive global research grant network (see Swiss Biotech Association article, Page 34). Similarly, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic), has helped to shape the Access Consortium for joint regulatory approval across Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, and the UK (see Swissmedic article, Page 30). These are just two examples of how Switzerland engages in the formation of international alliances from basic research to regulatory approval and market access (see also articles SNSF, Page 16, and Biotechnet, Page 22).

Swiss biotech companies invest around CHF 2.5 billion/year in R&D projects. This funding, combined with the international talent pool, world leading innovation, and the drive to collaborate internationally, contribute to the attractiveness of Switzerland as a partner in global alliances.

While Switzerland’s contribution is particularly strong in the biopharma sector, it increasingly partners in industrial biotechnology applications as well (see SATW article, Page 26, and scienceindustries, Page 38). The guest editorial in this report, by the director of the Zurich Zoo, highlights that international alliances are also an essential element in the protection of biodiversity and animal health.

As outlined in the “Facts and Figures” section (see Page 8) in 2024 Swiss biotech companies attracted capital investments of CHF 2.5 billion and invested CHF 2.6 billion in their R&D projects. These funds, combined with the international talent pool, its innovation power, and the spirit to collaborate with all countries around the world, contribute to the attractiveness of Switzerland as a partner in international alliances.

On behalf of all the partners of the Swiss Biotech Report 2025, I invite you to dive into the articles in this year’s report that address the main topic “the power of international alliances” from their different perspectives. They demonstrate that Switzerland is an attractive partner for international collaboration along the entire value chain. In this role, Switzerland can contribute effectively to the development, manufacturing (see S-GE article, Page 40) and distribution of innovative products. It can help streamline and accelerate international collaboration processes to develop novel solutions and technologies more rapidly and make them available across the world.