From Hengrui To Moderna: Why More Biotech Companies Are Creating Swiss Hubs

An increasing number of biotech companies originating from the US and Asia are building EU headquarters in Switzerland. Scrip spoke with four key opinion leaders on the motivations behind these decisions and the role the domestic ecosystem has to play, from school systems to neutral politics and beyond.    

Swiss Biotech Focus
Switzerland Is Home To World-Class Manufacturers • Source: Shutterstock

“Switzerland has four main sources of new biotech activity,” Swiss Biotech Association CEO Michael Altorfer told Scrip. “The first source is spin-offs from academic centres in the country, the second is spin-offs from big pharma and other large conglomerates, the third is the direct creation of companies through venture builders and the fourth is companies that are founded elsewhere but have expanded or moved to set up bases in Switzerland.”

It is this fourth and final source of activity that has gained traction in recent years. “Of all the international...

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