How Switzerland rightly earned the nickname of “Health Valley”

Switzerland spends a fortune on its healthcare system per capita, making it an attractive market for medical device manufacturers. Moreover, the mountainous Central European country outstrips Germany and the United Kingdom in the number of employees employed in medical technology, accounting for 28% of the total workforce. According to Switzerland Global Enterprises, Switzerland ranks ahead of Germany and the Netherlands in terms of the highest proportion of its population employed in the medtech sector (11% vs. 0.3% in Germany). There are over 900 pharmaceutical and medical technology companies, representing 40 percent of all pharmaceutical companies in the world.

More than 1,600 companies in Switzerland are part of the medical technology industry. According to the Swiss Medtech Association, there are more than 1,400 companies in the medtech sector that generate a turnover of 15.8 billion US dollars and contribute 2.3 percent to Swiss GDP. Compared to all other countries in the world, the sector contributes the most to Swiss GDP and establishes Switzerland as one of the most important locations for the global medtech industry.

According to the latest report, the medical technology industry continues to benefit from the traditional strengths of Switzerland as a location. These include high-quality technologies, a broad base for knowledge and innovation, world-class universities and research institutions, and political and economic stability. Switzerland’s strength as a medtech market is reflected in the top position of the Global Innovation Index 2018. These elements have created a dynamic in the region that has enabled Switzerland to take on a leading role in the field of medical technology. Switzerland has become an established global market leader in healthcare solutions and has developed an active cluster of medical technologies in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostics industries.

The boom in high-tech medical technology has earned Switzerland in the French speaking parts of the country the nickname “Health Valley “. First-class research facilities, cross-sectoral knowledge transfer and a well-developed healthcare system have made Switzerland an attractive place for medical technology. Since the beginning of the 2000s, reed-and-commuting companies have become a talked-about in the medical technology sector of French-speaking Switzerland and have helped the region to gain a reputation as a health valley.

The name alludes to California’s Silicon Valley phenomenon, and the French-speaking region is now one of the world’s most dynamic ecosystems for life sciences and healthcare industries, despite the similar regions in the US. More than 1,000 companies, start-ups, research and training centers and 5,000 scientists work in Switzerland Health Valley. In 2013, 41% of life science companies had their international headquarters and 29% more than half had their regional headquarters in Switzerland.

The country, located in the heart of Europe and home to the world’s leading international health institutions and two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies Novartis and Roche, is ranked first in terms of business-friendliness and innovation, and can claim to be a powerhouse in health and life sciences. In the early 2000s, French-speaking Switzerland experienced the convergence of biotechnology and medical technology promoted by the likes of EPFL President Patrick Long to form what is now called the Health Valley. Over the years, Switzerland has at times asserted itself as an expert in medical technology and has distinguished itself as a pioneer in a number of other pioneering areas such as artificial intelligence.

Given its status as an international biotechnology epicenter, combined with its reputation as one of the most advanced countries in terms of its financial industry and Fintech industry, the prospects for Switzerland to be a global leader in these developments and its longevity in the financial industry are high. The medical technology sector is in part thriving because it meets the demands of a strained medical care system at a time when longer life expectancy creates new health problems. Medical technology contributes as much to the gross domestic product (GDP) of no other country in the world as in Switzerland.

Switzerland will continue to support countries in their national health policy, strategy and plan and will work to bring them a step closer to universal health care (UHC). In order to strengthen the activities of the Longevity Swiss Foundation in the areas of longevity policy, politics, governance and synergistic industrial development, the foundation seeks donations from important institutional and individual sponsors who are interested in Switzerland revealing its latent strengths and prospects to become the leading longevity nation it could be.

In the Euro Health Consumer Index 2017, which is based on clinical results, waiting times and patient satisfaction, the Swiss healthcare system ranks second. An estimated political coherence and a renewed framework for Swiss health and foreign policy in 2019–2024 will position Switzerland for other global health negotiations. Known for its health valley, Switzerland’s crypto-valley offers a business environment of securities regulation, investor protection, reasonable tax rates for ICOs and STOs, and friendly legislators.

Figures from Swiss Global Enterprises show that companies in Switzerland file 540 patents for medical inventions every year. The Swiss medical technology industry and its manufacturers cover a wide range of medical technology products, technologies and competencies.

The leading Swiss universities of clinical medicine base their reputation on research in this area in Zurich, Berne, Basel, Geneva, Lausanne and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. With this position, it is Switzerland that is the undisputed leader in the life sciences industry, an achievement which has earned the country the nickname of “Health Valley” in popular French speaking parts of the country.