Six charts show challenges facing Swiss pharmaceutical industry

The two Roche towers in Basel. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The pharmaceutical industry is a major driver of growth and employment in Switzerland. However, pressure from the US and the rise of new players could shuffle the deck and challenge its position on the international stage. These figures and charts illustrate the significance of this flagship Swiss industry.

1. A pillar of the Swiss economy

In 2023, nearly 350 companies were active in the pharmaceutical industry in Switzerland, according to the Federal Statistical OfficeExternal link. These included global pharma heavyweights under Swiss control, such as Novartis, Roche and Sandoz. But they also included the Swiss subsidiaries of their foreign competitors, such as Pfizer, Takeda and AstraZeneca.

More than 56,000 people currently work in the pharma industry, mainly at large multinationals. The sector also employs around 250,000 people indirectly, according to a 2024 study by the BAK economic research institute commissioned by Interpharma, the industry’s umbrella organisation.

After a quarter of a century of continuous growth, the industry’s share of gross value added to the economy fell slightly in 2022 and 2023 (latest available data). Even so, in 2023 its gross value added accounted for 6% of the economy. It is the fourth-largest economic sector in Switzerland.

Including indirect added valueExternal link, estimated at CHF30 billion ($38 billion), BAK calculates that the pharmaceutical industry’s entire value chain accounts for almost one in every ten francs generated in the country.

According to figures published in 2025 by the FSOExternal link, the pharmaceutical industry is the sector that invests the most in research and development in Switzerland: nearly CHF5.5 billion in 2023, or nearly a third of the approximately CHF18 billion spent by the private sector as a whole. Among the member countries of the OECD, Switzerland is where pharmaceutical companies invest by far the most in R&DExternal link: the average for the organisation’s developed states is 8%.

2. Exports worth CHF100 billion

Pharmaceutical products – particularly serums and vaccines – are Switzerland’s second-largest export category after gold. In 2025, sales abroad of these products were worth more than CHF100 billion, accounting for nearly 22% of the total value of its exports. In 2012, this share stood at 17%, according to foreign trade statistics.

Switzerland’s largest trade surpluses are in pharmaceutical products: nearly CHF35 billion last year.

In 2024, as in previous years, Switzerland was the world’s second-largest exporter of pharmaceutical products, behind Germany and ahead of the United States.

Trade relations with the US carry particular weight. Looking at global pharma export flows in isolation, Swiss shipments to the United States surpassed all others, with a total value exceeding $35 billion.

3. Roche and Novartis: two global giants based in Switzerland

The pharmaceutical industry is of considerable importance to Switzerland’s economy, but beyond that, it also remains a global heavyweight — thanks largely to Roche and Novartis.

The turnover of the two Basel-based multinationals has grown in recent years, rising from around $49 billion in 2020 to approximately $57 billion in 2025, keeping them in the top ten, according to rankings compiled by the specialist website Drug Discovery & DevelopmentExternal link.

Roche and Novartis have, however, slipped down this ranking in recent years. In 2020, the Swiss giants still occupied second and third place respectively. They dropped one place between 2024 and 2025.

This decline is not due to a drop in their performance, but to the extraordinary rise of Eli Lilly. The US manufacturer of several anti-obesity “blockbusters” has climbed from ninth to first place in the space of a year, with its turnover rising from $45 billion in 2024 to $65 billion in 2025.

Roche and Novartis are also leaders in innovation, according to Citeline’s annual report on pharma R&D. Between 2025 and 2026, Roche rose from second to first place in the rankings. Novartis dropped two places, overtaken by AstraZeneca and Sanofi, but remains one of the world’s leading companies.

Six Swiss drugs (four from Novartis and two from Roche) featured among the world’s 50 best-selling medicines in 2025. Novartis is the manufacturer with the second-highest number of medicines in this top 50, tied with the US firm Pfizer.

Roche’s Ocrevus (neurology/immunology) generated the highest sales of any Swiss drug ($8.4 billion, an increase for the second consecutive year). Novartis’s cardiovascular treatment Entresto maintained its sales at nearly US$7.8 billion. Two Novartis treatments entered the global top 50 in 2025: Kisqali (immunology) and Kesimpta (oncology). Conversely, four Roche medicines dropped out: Hemlibra, Tecentriq, Perjeta and Xolair.

However, the best-selling Swiss medicines are still a long way from the record turnover held by Merck’s cancer treatment Keytruda. In 2025, its sales stood at around $32 billion (+7.5% year-on-year).

This ranking of the best-selling medicines also highlights the rapidly changing pharmaceutical landscape and the revolution brought about by GLP-1 receptor agonists, which are used to treat diabetes and aid weight loss. Ozempic and its related product Wegovy, from Novo Nordisk, as well as Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, were among the top performers in 2025, just as they were in 2024. Zepbound, also from Eli Lilly, posted the strongest growth in 2025, despite not even featuring in the ranking in 2024.

Pressure from US President Donald Trump to bring production back to the US is also forcing the two giants to review their US strategy, which could hit the Swiss pharma industry.

Novartis and Roche are planning to invest billions to boost their production across the Atlantic. Some experts fear that such a strategic redeployment could lead to a decline in jobs, turnover and innovation in Switzerland, particularly in the Basel region.

4. The Swiss pharma industry is one of the most competitive, but competition is intensifying

Year after year, Switzerland ranks in the top three of the Global Industry Competitiveness Index calculated by BAK Economics, which measures the international competitiveness of the chemical and pharma industry. It occupies third place in the 2025 ranking, behind the United States (first) and Ireland (second).

The report notes that Switzerland performs well across all four dimensions assessed (performance; market position and operational capability; innovation and technological leadership; and location quality) and has no major weaknesses. The study also estimates that the Swiss pharma industry boasts the best location quality in the world, as well as a very high level of productivity and solid growth.

It is the country’s relative standing that has deteriorated, particularly in the field of innovation. Other countries have made significant strides in this area, such as Denmark – which is tied for third place – the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

5. The US remains the undisputed leader, with China on the rise

The US remains the world’s most competitive pharmaceutical hub, largely thanks to its strong market position and exceptional capacity for innovation.

The country still largely dominates global pharmaceutical R&D, hosting over 40% of the headquarters of companies developing new medicines. But its influence has waned in recent years.

What’s changed is the rapid development of pharma R&D in China, which now sits in second place. Nearly 20% of all innovative firms in the sector are now based there, compared with 5% in 2017. Consequently, the share of the group of European countries, of which Switzerland is a part, has fallen to 7% in 2026, compared with 13% just a year ago.

The same trend can be observed when looking at the countries where medicines are actually developed. According to this criterion, the United States accounts for the largest share of R&D activity, with over 50% of all medicines undergoing development on its territory. However, this figure has fallen: it stood at 56% in 2021, again according to Citeline.

At the same time, the proportion of medicines under development in China has risen from 18% in 2021 to over 30% in 2026. By comparison, just under 7% of medicines are developed in Switzerland, a proportion that remains stable year on year.

The major markets of the US and China are adopting “very aggressive strategies to attract research, production and investment”, Annette Luther, president of scienceindustriesExternal link, the national association of chemical and pharmaceutical industries, said in an interview in January 2026.

Compared to other nations that are reacting very quickly to global changes, “Switzerland seems less hungry for competition”, she said. In her view, Switzerland’s fundamentals remain solid, but a new strategic impetus will be needed to maintain the country’s competitiveness.

Edited by Virginie Mangin. Adapted from French by Catherine Hickley/gw