Skip to main content

Pharmaceutical industry is driving the Swiss economy

| News

Pharmaceutical industry is driving the Swiss economy

22.11.2017

The number of jobs in the pharmaceutical industry is on a steady rise – and other industries are benefiting from the success of the pharmaceutical companies. According to a new study from BAK Economics, the pharmaceutical industry is the most important driver of growth in Switzerland as a centre of industry.

(img: Bürogebäude Bau 1/Roche)

The number of jobs in the pharmaceutical industry has increased by 12,000 positions in the past ten years. In 2016, Swiss pharmaceutical companies offered around 43,000 full-time jobs, with each job in the pharmaceutical industry generating around four times more added value as the overall economic average. These figures come from a new study from the independent economic research institute BAK Economics and the consulting firm Polynomics on behalf of the association Interpharma.

According to the study, other industries are also benefiting from the successful economic activities of the pharmaceutical industry. Calculations show that every franc of added value from the pharmaceutical industry is worth an additional 70 rappen of added value in other industries as a result of supplier orders. This results in a direct added value contribution of 49.6 billion Swiss francs, or just under 8 per cent of the economy’s total gross added value. In addition, each additional job in the pharmaceutical industry creates an additional 3.2 full-time jobs in companies in other industries.

Overall, the pharmaceutical industry is the most important driver of growth in Switzerland as a centre of industry, finds the study. Around one-fifth of Switzerland’s real economic growth came from the Swiss pharmaceutical industry.

The success of the pharmaceutical industry is partly due to the attractive conditions in which it operates in Switzerland. For large pharmaceutical companies, this includes unbureaucratic access to important export markets, the availability of qualified staff, competitive corporate taxation, as well as the fact that the excellence of Switzerland as a centre of research is ensured.

Share this article

Sign up to receive our newsletter in your inbox.

You might also be interested in

The power of a persuasive pitch deck

Are you an entrepreneur striving to secure investment for your biotech startup? Start with an effective pitch deck to catch...
Read More

Roche investing an additional 1.2 billion Swiss francs in Basel

Roche will be putting an additional 1.2 billion Swiss francs towards the renovation of its site in Basel. This investment...
Read More

Nouscom secures 67.5 million euros in financing

Biotech company Nouscom has raised 67.5 million euros in a series C financing round. The Basel-based firm intends to use...
Read More

Celebrating six months of innovation: i4Challenge accelerator New Ideas 2022/2023

On the 5th of July 2023, the 3rd iteration of the i4Challenge accelerator program New Ideas came to its conclusion....
Read More

How open innovation in healthtech hubs is fueling the rise of digital healthcare

How the ever-increasing uptake of digital solutions is enhancing patient engagement, increasing access to care and lowering the cost of...
Read More

How to access the U.S. market with your medical device

In one of our latest Venture Mentoring events by Basel Are Business & Innovation, we invited Nila-Pia Rähle to speak...
Read More

Do you have a question? We'd like to hear from you.