Medicine access

Coverage of issues such as drug prices and insurance supply chains that impact people’s ability to access medicine and therapies.

Dealing with vaccine hesitancy in the age of misinformation – lessons from Switzerland

This content was published on Jul 12, 2025 In Switzerland, complementary and alternative medicine is key to addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Drug pricing

Sandoz board chair ‘convinced that common sense will ultimately prevail’ on US pharma tariffs

This content was published on Jun 28, 2025 In an exclusive interview with Swissinfo, Sandoz chair Gilbert Ghostine says he remains optimistic despite looming tariff hikes.

A young patient is fitted with an exoskeleton.

Rare diseases take centre stage at global health summit

This content was published on May 27, 2025 Rare diseases have been recognised as a global health priority for the first time. How could this impact access to life-saving treatment?

Despite Trump’s bold claims, medicine prices in Europe won’t rise anytime soon

This content was published on May 15, 2025 US President Trump has taken aim at Europe for undercharging for medicine. But raising prices in Europe would face strong pushback.

There are thousands of videos about weight-loss drugs on social media that can be seen from anywhere in the world.

Swiss regulator and media clash over weight-loss drugs

This content was published on Jan 21, 2025 Swissmedic has taken legal action against media for alleged unauthorised advertising of weight-loss drugs. Swiss media say this is censorship.

How drug prices are negotiated in Switzerland and beyond

This content was published on Apr 23, 2024 Switzerland’s pharmaceutical sector supplies drugs worldwide, but not all countries receive them with the same price tag. Here’s why.

Whatever happened to the world’s most expensive drug?

This content was published on Apr 23, 2024 Swiss pharma giant Novartis launched Zolgensma five years ago with a price tag of $2.1 million. What happened to it?

Patient safety

Swiss inaction threatens global antibiotic development push

This content was published on Jul 8, 2025 Switzerland risks stalling global antibiotic innovation amid rising resistance.

Global concern over measles is rising. Should Switzerland worry?

This content was published on May 30, 2025 Measles is making a global comeback. In Switzerland, a crisis is unlikely – but authorities warn a strong vaccination rate remains crucial.

Swiss regulator and media clash over weight-loss drugs

This content was published on Jan 21, 2025 Swissmedic has taken legal action against media for alleged unauthorised advertising of weight-loss drugs. Swiss media say this is censorship.

AI regulations must strike a balance between innovation and safety

This content was published on Dec 19, 2024 What risks do citizens face in countries where artificial intelligence (AI) is not regulated, like Switzerland?

Medicines regulators weigh hope and hype with new Alzheimer’s drugs

This content was published on Sep 30, 2024 Swissmedic is expected to decide on the approval of the first new drug for Alzheimer’s disease in two decades. The decision won’t be easy.

Battling the rising tide of fake medicine

This content was published on Jul 4, 2024 Sales of counterfeit drugs are booming around the world, putting thousands of lives at risk. Why is it so hard to stem the tide of fake medicine?

Pharma supply chains

A pharmacist with a customer in France offering a generic drug.

How US tariffs could disrupt the generic drugs supply chain

This content was published on Jul 1, 2025 US tariffs on generics could raise drug prices and accentuate shortages. That’s not what US President Donald Trump had in mind.

Sandoz board chair ‘convinced that common sense will ultimately prevail’ on US pharma tariffs

This content was published on Jun 28, 2025 In an exclusive interview with Swissinfo, Sandoz chair Gilbert Ghostine says he remains optimistic despite looming tariff hikes.

A man checks an oscillating surgical saw blade at one of the leading manufacturers of medical devices for bone surgery, Gomina, in canton Valais.

Syringes, scanners and implants: How US tariffs could affect medical device manufacturers

This content was published on Jun 17, 2025 Swiss-made insulin pens and orthopaedic implants are being caught in the crosshairs of global trade tensions.

US tariffs pressure Swiss pharma powerhouse

This content was published on Apr 25, 2025 Looming US pharma tariffs could challenge the status quo in pharmaceutical hubs like Switzerland as investment shifts to the US.

Five ways health authorities hope to end medicine shortages

This content was published on Jan 31, 2025 Authorities in many countries are scrambling for solutions to mounting shortages of medicine. Will any of them work?

Swiss pharmacies brace for shake-up as deregulation looms

This content was published on Dec 9, 2024 Local pharmacies in many parts of the world are disappearing but Switzerland has so far escaped unscathed. Why?

Map of Slovenia with pharmaceutical companies locations

Slovenia’s role in the global pharmaceutical supply chain

This content was published on Feb 9, 2024 Novartis and Sandoz have been investing into the Balkan nation’s pharma sector, turning into a key partner for development and manufacturing of drugs.

Health systems

Syringes, scanners and implants: How US tariffs could affect medical device manufacturers

This content was published on Jun 17, 2025 Swiss-made insulin pens and orthopaedic implants are being caught in the crosshairs of global trade tensions.

Five ways health authorities hope to end medicine shortages

This content was published on Jan 31, 2025 Authorities in many countries are scrambling for solutions to mounting shortages of medicine. Will any of them work?

Swiss pharmacies brace for shake-up as deregulation looms

This content was published on Dec 9, 2024 Local pharmacies in many parts of the world are disappearing but Switzerland has so far escaped unscathed. Why?

A nurse organises samples at the Tengani health center in the Nsanje district of Southern Malawi on November 25, 2014 where Riders for Health's biker Mathias Semba will collect blood samples to be delivered over a hundred kilometres away in Thiolo before being tested at a viral load lab.

Can AI bridge the access to healthcare gap in sub-Saharan Africa?

This content was published on Jul 9, 2025 A Swiss-led initiative could be a game changer in helping health-workers in remote areas access medical knowledge.

Swiss inaction threatens global antibiotic development push

This content was published on Jul 8, 2025 Switzerland risks stalling global antibiotic innovation amid rising resistance.

Can Saudi Arabia’s billions unlock the secrets to a longer, healthier life?

This content was published on Jul 3, 2025 Longevity has been an underfunded area of biotech research but that is changing thanks to an unlikely source: Saudi Arabia.

How US tariffs could disrupt the generic drugs supply chain

This content was published on Jul 1, 2025 US tariffs on generics could raise drug prices and accentuate shortages. That’s not what US President Donald Trump had in mind.

Sandoz board chair ‘convinced that common sense will ultimately prevail’ on US pharma tariffs

This content was published on Jun 28, 2025 In an exclusive interview with Swissinfo, Sandoz chair Gilbert Ghostine says he remains optimistic despite looming tariff hikes.

Syringes, scanners and implants: How US tariffs could affect medical device manufacturers

This content was published on Jun 17, 2025 Swiss-made insulin pens and orthopaedic implants are being caught in the crosshairs of global trade tensions.

Global concern over measles is rising. Should Switzerland worry?

This content was published on May 30, 2025 Measles is making a global comeback. In Switzerland, a crisis is unlikely – but authorities warn a strong vaccination rate remains crucial.

MMR vaccine. Syringe and vial on a counter. This combined vaccine protects infants from three viral diseases: measles, mumps and rubella.

One paper, 20 years of damage

This content was published on May 30, 2025 Nearly 30 years ago an academic paper wrongly linked autism to a measles vaccine. The impacts are still being felt today.

Rare diseases take centre stage at global health summit

This content was published on May 27, 2025 Rare diseases have been recognised as a global health priority for the first time. How could this impact access to life-saving treatment?

Novartis bets on ageing as next frontier in drug development

This content was published on May 23, 2025 Swiss pharma giant Novartis is diving into research on ageing to tap the growing market for drugs that help keep older adults healthy.

Despite Trump’s bold claims, medicine prices in Europe won’t rise anytime soon

This content was published on May 15, 2025 US President Trump has taken aim at Europe for undercharging for medicine. But raising prices in Europe would face strong pushback.

Chinese biotechs eye Swiss collaboration as relations with US sour

This content was published on May 8, 2025 With growing uncertainty in the US, Chinese companies are swooping in to present themselves as stable, open partners to the Swiss biotech sector.

A woman holding an hourglass, with a DNA string illustration and nature scenery in the background

How Switzerland became a longevity hot spot

This content was published on May 2, 2025 People have come to Switzerland for centuries in search of the fountain of youth. How did the country become a magnet for longevity seekers?

Longevity clinics: modern-day snake oil or the key to healthy ageing?

This content was published on May 2, 2025 Scientists have yet to find the elixir of life but this hasn’t stopped longevity clinics from selling treatments, pills and gadgets that claim to slow ageing.

US tariffs pressure Swiss pharma powerhouse

This content was published on Apr 25, 2025 Looming US pharma tariffs could challenge the status quo in pharmaceutical hubs like Switzerland as investment shifts to the US.

How are mental illnesses treated in your country?

In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?

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Apr 23, 2025

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Transcranial magnetic stimulation was invented in 1985 and involves a racket-like device that emits a magnetic field being placed close to the patient’s head.

Electric touch: neurostimulation’s comeback in psychiatry

This content was published on Apr 23, 2025 Faced with a lack of breakthroughs in treating mental health disorders, older methods such as electrical-based therapies are experiencing a revival.

Gene therapies’ moment of reckoning

This content was published on Apr 4, 2025 Gene therapy companies have faced numerous setbacks over the last few years. What will it take for gene therapies to fulfill their promise?

‘It’s political’: why some people refuse to have a smartphone

This content was published on Mar 23, 2025 Almost two decades after the first iPhone, not everyone is ready to go fully digital. We talk to three people sceptical of the always-online life.

Lost stem cells: the scandal of a Swiss cord blood bank

This content was published on Mar 21, 2025 Imagine placing all your hopes on your baby’s stem cells to save their life or yours, only to fear seeing that hope vanish along with your child’s cells.

How Trump’s attack on diversity could derail drug development in Switzerland

This content was published on Mar 21, 2025 If Big Pharma abandons diversity goals in clinical research, it could set drug development back decades.

Information campaigns on sexually transmitted infections needed more than ever

What the Swiss don’t know about sexually transmitted infections

This content was published on Mar 19, 2025 Many Swiss are not that savvy about sexually transmitted infections. Even so, a programme to inform people about STIs is being cut.

Digital democracy: will Swiss signature scandal pave way for e-collecting?

This content was published on Mar 8, 2025 It remains to be seen whether the signature scam will bring about the digitalisation of direct democracy in Switzerland. An overview of the situation.

How counterspeech is tackling hate speech in 2025

This content was published on Feb 17, 2025 As Facebook and Instagram relax content restrictions, the commitment of volunteers who push back against hate is becoming more crucial than ever.

What do you think about advanced health technologies such as freezing cord blood?

Do you have any experience with such solutions? Do you think more or less regulation is needed and why?

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Feb 11, 2025

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A visitor looks at a virtual version of her heart at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 2024.

Digital citizens could shake up democracy in Switzerland and beyond

This content was published on Feb 4, 2025 Leading experts in medicine and business are pinning their hopes on digital twins. Two economists have a bold proposal that could reshape democracy.

Five ways health authorities hope to end medicine shortages

This content was published on Jan 31, 2025 Authorities in many countries are scrambling for solutions to mounting shortages of medicine. Will any of them work?

Discovering ancient microorganisms inside Swiss glaciers

This content was published on Jan 29, 2025 Follow a team of scientists on the Rhône glacier as they hunt for new – and potentially beneficial – microorganisms which are increasingly being released from the melting ice.

January 6, 2021: supporters of Donald Trump break through security and storm into the symbolic heart of US democracy, the Capitol in Washington.

Why some people turn to authoritarianism in the name of freedom

This content was published on Jan 25, 2025 Sociologists Carolin Amlinger and Oliver Nachtwey explain the sometimes surprising origins of a new type of anti-democratic figure.

Swiss regulator and media clash over weight-loss drugs

This content was published on Jan 21, 2025 Swissmedic has taken legal action against media for alleged unauthorised advertising of weight-loss drugs. Swiss media say this is censorship.

AI could be used to either generate original art or steal artists' work.

Switzerland in no rush to tame artificial intelligence

This content was published on Jan 15, 2025 Switzerland’s methodical approach to regulating AI has hit a delay, increasing the gap to other countries.

Post Auto tested the first automated bus in Switzerland

Explainer: Switzerland gears up for driverless transport era

This content was published on Jan 10, 2025 What impact will autonomous transport have in Switzerland, and can we expect to see a flood of driverless cars any time soon?

Secrets revealed by melting Swiss glaciers could eat plastic and cure disease

This content was published on Jan 5, 2025 Melting glaciers release largely unknown bacteria and viruses. These microorganisms could help us tackle some major global problems, from plastic pollution to antibiotic resistance.

AI regulations must strike a balance between innovation and safety

This content was published on Dec 19, 2024 What risks do citizens face in countries where artificial intelligence (AI) is not regulated, like Switzerland?

Swiss pharmacies brace for shake-up as deregulation looms

This content was published on Dec 9, 2024 Local pharmacies in many parts of the world are disappearing but Switzerland has so far escaped unscathed. Why?