Overview
Swiss healthcare spending reached 11.9% of GDP in 2020, according to the OECD, with per capita spending on healthcare higher than any other European country. There are opportunities for U.S. companies offering innovative medical technology (medtech) and pharmaceutical products to the Swiss market. U.S. companies may also find opportunities to supply global pharmaceutical companies based in Switzerland, including Novartis and Roche. An abundance of smaller entities and various medtech companies are active as manufacturers, suppliers, service providers, and sales companies. About 47,500 employees work directly for the Swiss pharmaceutical industry and another 63,000 work in the medtech industry.
|
|
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 estimated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total Local Production1 |
75,004 |
77,290 |
79,444 |
83,575 |
|
Total Exports2 |
79,248 |
86,984 |
91,825 |
105,371 |
|
Total Imports2 |
32,229 |
33,860 |
41,185 |
44,635 |
|
Imports from the US2 |
4374 |
4,375 |
4,372 |
4,481 |
|
Total Market Size |
27,985 |
24,166 |
28,804 |
22,839 |
|
Exchange Rates |
0.978 |
0.994 |
0.939 |
0.914 |
(total market size = (total local production + imports) - exports)
Units: $ millions
Source:
1Swiss gross value-added in the sectors of manufacture of pharmaceutical products and human health activities as outlined in https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/volkswirtschaft/volkswirtschaftliche-gesamtrechnung/produktionskonto.assetdetail.18424416.html (retrieved on 7/23/2022). The growth rate for local production for 2021 was estimated at 5.2% in Swiss franc terms, in line with overall GDP growth for the year
2 Estimates include pharmaceutical products (HS Code 30) and med tech products (HS Code 9018), per the UN Comtrade database (retrieved on 6/23/22).
Leading Sub-Sectors
Drugs, instruments, and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental, or veterinary sciences, drugs in general, human and animal blood, vaccines, and bandages.
Opportunities
Opportunities for U.S. suppliers delivering the Swiss market include all leading subsectors.
Resources
- Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swiss government agency regulating the Swiss market access): https://www.swissmedic.ch/swissmedic/de/home.html
- Association Switzerland’s research-based pharmaceutical industry (interpharma): https://www.interpharma.ch/
- Swiss Medtech Industry Association (Swiss Medtech): https://www.swiss-medtech.ch/ IFAS trade fair in Zurich (October 19 to 29, 2021): https://www.ifas-expo.ch/de
- ILMAC trade fair in Basel with a focus on lab equipment (September 19 to 21, 2021): https://www.ilmac.ch/en/fair