What are the secrets to Switzerland’s healthcare success?

In the small country of Switzerland exists a mighty life sciences ecosystem, bringing together the talent, knowledge and culture needed to bring new therapeutics from bench to patient.

Switzerland is internationally recognised as a leader in biotech, MedTech and pharma, with over 700 life sciences companies doing business in Basel alone.

The country has produced incredible innovations in pharma, such as CRISPR-Cas9 and CAR T-cell therapy, which have had a profound impact on research and healthcare across the world.

It’s clear that Switzerland is a melting pot for life sciences success, but what is driving the country’s pioneering work and how can Switzerland use its strengths to sustain its leading position in the years to come?

Switzerland’s life sciences roots go back centuries, beginning in the 18th century with Sandoz, Ciba and Geigy creating colours for the silk dyeing industry.

These early businesses would become Novartis and together with Roche, born out of Basel in the 19th century, grew to become multinational giants – just two of the many life sciences companies that call Switzerland home today.

Switzerland’s strong network of life sciences businesses, from start-ups and scale-ups to multinationals, paired with a supportive, business-friendly environment provides a collaborative culture that drives innovation and attracts talent.

As well as a solid foundation of thriving businesses, Switzerland is home to some of the most acclaimed technical universities in Europe, such as ETH Zurich, University of Basel and Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL).

The homegrown talent nurtured in these institutions is often snapped up locally by established life sciences companies.

These organisations provide dedicated teams of coaches and mentors ready to help forge careers for new graduates or help entrepreneurs scale up their fresh innovations.

In addition, there are several high-profile business schools, such as the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne and St Gallen University, which are driving world-leading executive programmes, opening the door for talented people to enter more senior roles.

The excellent quality of life and job satisfaction is what encourages Switzerland’s pool of talent to stay.

Switzerland is an easy, safe and comfortable place to live and work, and there’s a plethora of lakes and mountains on offer for those who enjoy the outdoors.
Although the cost of living is high, this is offset by high salaries and reasonably low taxation.

Larger organisations often supply compensation packages that benefit the whole family and address costs such as daycare, schooling and healthcare.

The free movement afforded by the EU bilateral working agreement, along with specific procedures allowing for the recruitment of non-EU staff, means that relocation to Switzerland is relatively easy.

For relocating family members, Switzerland offers a wide selection of highly ranked international schools, as well as English speaking authorities, support programmes and networking platforms that all help facilitate integration.

Once talent is in Switzerland, many want to stay, thereby continuing to grow its wealth of life sciences knowledge. In fact, 63% of non-Swiss who have settled in Switzerland say they never want to leave.

Facing challenges in a shifting global market
The success of Switzerland’s life sciences sector shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Although Switzerland is a place where life sciences businesses thrive, it is still operating in a shifting global market that has had its fair share of pressures (a pandemic and a global recession to name a few).

A forward-thinking mindset that pre-empts the needs of tomorrow will be needed to support Switzerland’s winning position.

Plugging the leaky talent funnel
Many specialist graduates are recruited straight into the life sciences sector, but increasingly they are beginning to trickle into other areas.

These gifted young people are in high demand, and the industry must do more to promote the life sciences sector and its long-term career opportunities in universities.
Once recruited into the sector, employers must be vigilant to keep these promising executives of tomorrow. Gen Z are quick to evolve and eager to progress, so businesses need to think about providing valuable opportunities internally.

The next leaky place in the talent funnel occurs when employees look to start a family. Swiss employment laws are advanced in many ways, but policies around maternity and paternity pay are notoriously archaic.

Maternity pay lasts for only 14 weeks and second parent pay for only two weeks, both capped at 80% of earnings and at no more than CHF 220 a day.

Larger, multinational organisations will often top up this statutory pay in line with their stronger EU-based policies, but smaller start-ups might struggle to do so.

This has repercussions both on recruiting talent within Switzerland but also when pulling together relocation packages for those hoping to move into the region.

Continuing to import talent
Although homegrown talent is abundant in Switzerland, life sciences graduates are still being pulled into other sectors, so importing talent will continue to be important.

However, there is always a risk of the number of available permits being reduced, which would push companies to recruit in-country first.

While this makes sense in terms of keeping unemployment levels down, itself important for a stable economy that benefits everyone, it does create issues when recruiting for specialist roles in which there is likely to be a shortage of candidates.

While multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences organisations in Switzerland are investing in their infrastructure, it seems like Google, to name but one, seems to believe there will still be plenty of opportunities for a wide variety of skilled workers.

Switzerland has a unique life sciences ecosystem, with a thriving base of innovations coming from its specialist universities and a whole host of spin-off and start-up companies that are ready to disrupt the industry with new technologies.

These innovations have ready access to an excellent pool of talent and globally networked organisations that can carry these potential therapies through the growth phases and out to markets across the world.

As we look towards a time of continued growth and investment in life sciences and the therapies and technologies that it can offer, it will be this innovation mindset that will ensure Switzerland maintains its leading position.

Manu Chhokra is Managing Director Switzerland & Global Head of Interims at The RSA Group.
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