Swiss biotech sector is booming
Thursday, 02.04.2009

Swiss biotech sector is booming

Despite the strain on financial markets, Swiss biotech companies managed to increase sales in 2008 to about 9 billion francs. This was due both to the launch of new medicines and to cooperative ventures with pharmaceutical companies.

According to Yvonne Gunsch-Wegmann, biotech expert from the Swiss stock exchange, several biotech companies are preparing a stock market flotation in 2009, while the authors of the Swiss Biotech Report 2009 are also in positive mood and see, for example, the investment of Ernesto Bertarelli in the Liestal company Santhera as an encouraging signal for others.

 

In 2008, a lot of biotech companies secured the support of major pharmaceutical companies through partnerships, such as Glaxo SmithKline with Actelion and Cytos with Pfizer. Several companies also succeeded in launching new medicines last year, including companies from the Basel area, such as Santhera, Basilea and Nitec.

 

Altogether, there are 229 biotech companies based in Switzerland today, most of which are engaged in human or veterinary medicine.


Further information on the subject can be found at www.swissbiotech.org

The Swiss Biotech Report 2009 can be downloaded here: http://www.swissbiotech.org/swiss_biotech_report_2009

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