Life sciences are increasingly expanding throughout the entire Basel Area economic region

The life sciences industry remains the most important growth engine in the Basel Area. Even last year, the vast majority of companies that settled in the region were active in the life sciences. There were also settlements from the ICT and service sectors. In 2024, with the support of Basel Area Business & Innovation, 36 companies settled in the Basel region, of which 26, or around three quarters, are active in the life sciences. Compared to the previous year, the number of settled companies increased by two, surpassing the long-term average of 32. Companies from 16 countries settled in the Basel Area, 24 from Europe, six from America and six from Asia.

From the perspective of Basel Area Business & Innovation, the investment and innovation promotion agency, one factor stands out in particular.

This development can be explained by the expansion of innovation spaces such as the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area, which is increasingly successful in attracting companies from the life science sectors of biotech, medtech and healthtech at its three sites in Allschwil, on the Novartis Campus and in the Jura. Fortunately, companies from other sectors, such as ICT, are also increasingly setting up shop in such innovation spaces. fDi Intelligence, the British investment portal of the Financial Times, recently ranked the investment promotion strategy of Basel Area Business & Innovation as number one in its ranking of smaller European cities.

The number of company foundations supported by Basel Area Business & Innovation decreased in 2024, but with 67 it remains within the long-term average. The track record of the two startup incubators BaseLaunch and DayOne is impressive: In 2024, a total of 478 million francs were invested in startups supported by DayOne or BaseLaunch. These investments contribute significantly to the strengthening and diversification of the economic region. According to the companies that have settled or been established in the past year, more than 700 additional jobs are to be created in the Basel Area within the next five years.