Swiss Biotech Report 2023 “Effective solutions for global challenges”.
Pertrand Piccard, founder of the “Solar Impulse Foundation” points to Switzerland’s strong innovative contributions in the healthcare sector. The time has come to demonstrate the same innovative spirit for other areas than pharmaceuticals, for clean technology and sustainable product innovations to help accomplish seemingly impossible goals. And we must consider protecting the environment and sustainability as an economic and political opportunity.?
The intrinsic advantages of biotechnology are indisputable! Consider that he fastest growing bacteria, weighing ~ 10-12 g per cell, can grow so rapidly that their biomass could theoretically reach the mass of the earth (9*1054 tons) in less than a week! The combination of this exponential growth with the unmatched precision of biochemical reactions offers truly sustainable solutions for global challenges. The 2023 SBA Annual Report give numerous examples where biotechnology can accomplish seemingly impossible goals outside the pharma sector, from biopolymers and cell-based meat to microbial mining and biotech-based lubricants.??
An African proverb says “If want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”. The 2023 report stresses the importance of collaborations. 75% of biotech patents with Swiss-based inventors list co-inventors from other countries, only 25% are pure domestic inventions.?
The Biotechnet Switzerland https://biotechnet.ch is an association and national network of competence of Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences and Universities that enables companies and institutions to access biotechnological expertise according to their specific needs.?
The use of blockchain technology can ensure security and facilitate cooperation in areas which may previously have been seen as potentially conflicting, but which may offer tremendous opportunities through decentralized and controlled peer-to-peer exchange. Such an approach is currently being investigated by the “Swiss Industrial Biocatalysis Consortium” (SIBC).?
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The finance and resource-intensive “R&D-driven” model of biotech has been mastered in Switzerland, and the Swiss biotech industry is one of the most advanced and innovative in the world. In combination with the relative strength of the Swiss capital market backed by a strong currency we have all the necessary ingredients to provide effective biotechnology solutions for global challenges.?
In conclusion, the Swiss Life Science Sector (pharmaceuticals, vitamins, diagnostics) is remarkably dynamic: while exports from all other sectors taken together grew by 61% in the twenty years from 2002 to 2022, the life sciences sector’s contribution expanded by 255% over the same period! In 2013, life sciences industry exports surpassed that of the longtime leading metals and machinery sector. The Life Science sector accounted for 39% of total Swiss foreign exports with CHF 109.6 billion.?
Enjoy reading this year’s Swiss Biotech Report!?
Hans-Peter