Scienceindustries, the Swiss business association, released its study on Wednesday and found Switzerland again lost momentum on innovation. The country now sits ninth for innovation and technology leadership, slipping one place from last year and down from second in 2024 in a 40-country ranking of major drug markets.
"These are early indicators that we are losing the historical lead we have always had in Switzerland," said Annette Luther, president of Scienceindustries. "We now particularly need to catch up when it comes to the digitalization of health data."
The setback comes even though Roche and Novartis count among the biggest R&D spenders and enjoy strong venture capital access. Competition for pharma investment has tightened, with US pricing and trade policies pushing European drugmakers to allocate more of their budgets to America.
Luther called "the slide in technological leadership" "deeply concerning," pointing to much higher basic-research spending in countries such as China and the US.
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Switzerland retained its overall clout as a pharma center. It ranked third overall, trailing only the US and Ireland, and took the top spot for location quality. Luther added that this positioning could be an advantage in today's geopolitical climate.
China is quickly becoming a heavyweight in drug development and clinical trials. That momentum propelled it up by four spots to 12th in this year's index and nearer to the top 10, buoyed by the large size of its chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, although its business environment is still a relative weak point. "Everything points to China being at the forefront within the next one or two years," Michael Grass, the study's lead author, said. "The country is up everywhere and is still only below average on productivity." Denmark, home to Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk, slipped to fourth.
The bottom line: investors should watch where R&D dollars and trial activity are headed, because follow-on revenue, talent flows, and pipeline quality usually trail those footprints.
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