Swiss medtech firms sounds alarm about domestic industry

Swiss medtech is successful abroad but struggling in Switzerland. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Fewer new jobs, less investment: the boom times for Swiss medtech firms appear to be over.

Swiss medical technology firms manufacture products such as dental implants, insulin pens, artificial hip joints, pacemakers and diagnostic devices. Around 1,400 companies operate in this sector in Switzerland.

In 2025, these companies generated a record high turnover of CHF26 billion and employed just under 72,000 people. The sector is a key export industry for Switzerland and achieved a trade surplus of more than CHF5 billion in 2025. The most important export market is the European Union, followed by the United States.

Industry association Swiss Medtech publishes a report on the state of the sector every two years. According to the latest report, the sector is still doing well. Turnover has grown twice as fast as the Swiss economy as a whole over the past two years.

However, Swiss Medtech warns: “More than half of companies now rate Switzerland’s attractiveness as a business location as worse than it was five years ago.”

This is already evident in the figures. “On a net basis, only around 200 new jobs were created most recently – significantly fewer than the ten-year average of around 1,500 jobs,” the report states.

And 43% of companies surveyed have no plans to invest – the highest figure since the survey began. Swiss Medtech director Adrian Hunn describes this trend as “worrying”. Investment, he says, is the key to tomorrow’s jobs.

The main challenges for companies are the strong Swiss franc, trade barriers and high labour costs. The strong Swiss franc is a recurring problem for export-oriented sectors, as it makes their products more expensive abroad.

Medtech company Zimmer Biomet recently announced that up to 580 of the 730 jobs at its Winterthur site are to be eliminated as part of a production restructuring.

Damian Müller, president of Swiss Medtech, says the announcement is “extremely worrying.”

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Demands for policymakers

Trade barriers refers to US tariffs and to unresolved issues in relations with the EU. Since 2021, there has been no mutual recognition of medical device certifications between Switzerland and the EU.

This has made trade in medical devices significantly more difficult and is costing Swiss companies time and money, says Hunn. The cost is etween CHF150 million and CHF200 million a year, according to internal surveys.

Medtech companies play an important role not only economically but also in Switzerland’s healthcare system. They supply doctors’ practices, hospitals and laboratories with essential instruments and equipment.

They also strengthened Switzerland’s position in global supply chains during the Covid pandemic. Because other countries were interested in Swiss diagnostic or ventilator equipment, Switzerland was integrated into cooperation networks, which in turn gave it access to key active ingredients.

Swiss Medtech argues that the removal of trade barriers should be a top priority for policymakers. In addition to EU regulations, the association wants Swiss recognition of US approvals for medical devices.

This could not only facilitate the supply of these products in Switzerland, but also make the country a more attractive location for internationally active companies. Furthermore, the medtech sector criticises excessive bureaucracy and an overly high tax burden in Switzerland.

Translated from German, sub-edited by Matthew Allen/ts