Continuing Biotech Growth in Switzerland, Says Swiss Biotech Industry Report for 2007
The report, announced by partner organization Greater Zurich Area AG, presents Switzerland as a thriving location for Biotech and Life Sciences with excellent conditions for business, investments, IPOs, and R&D in the sector.
Zürich, Switzerland / Boston, MA (PRWEB) May 4, 2007 -- In due time for this year’s BIO 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts, Swiss Biotech, the biotech consortium of Switzerland, has released its annual report 2007. The report, announced by partner organization Greater Zurich Area AG, presents Switzerland as a thriving location for Biotech and Life Sciences with excellent conditions for business, investments, IPOs, and R&D in the sector.
The Swiss Biotech Report 2007 gathers the key economic data of the Swiss biotechnology industry for the year 2006. The market indicators suggest that Switzerland continues to be a hotbed for biotech and life sciences. The sector’s sustained growth marks the increasing significance of biotech and life sciences as a driving and innovative force in Swiss economic growth.
Swiss Biotech represents currently 218 Swiss biotech companies, divided into 79 core biotech developer companies and 58 extended biotech developer companies, as well as 81 biotech suppliers, excluding multinational pharma subsidiaries. Of the 137 Swiss biotech development companies, 85% are active in so-called “red” biotechnology (human and veterinary medicine), 7% in environmental and industry processes (“white” biotechnology) and 8% in agriculture and food (“green” biotechnology).
Swiss biotech industry results
The following are among the key findings and figures in the Biotech Report:
- Industry turnover for 2006 was CHF 6,424 million (2005: CHF 5,961 million, i.e. +7.8%);
- Swiss biotech had approx. 15,000 employees;
- R&D investment by private and listed companies was CHF 1,600 million (2005: CHF 1,533 million, i.e. +4.4%);
- Swiss Biotech in 2006 achieved a combined CHF 917 million profit;
- SWX Swiss Exchange saw 28% growth for SXI LIFE SCIENCES® and SXI Bio+Medtech indices;
- Equity capital influx amounts to CHF 224 million (2005: CHF 177 million (excl. Speedel pre-IPO financing));
- Close ties between business and academic worlds: 70% of R&D contributions is made by Swiss universities (e.g. ETH Zürich, EPFL Lausanne, and University of Zürich);
- Swiss biotech has sophisticated means of technology transfer available (e.g. the “SystemsX” initiative and the advanced Swiss biotech network featuring over 40 science parks, think tanks and cooperation alliances).
According to the Swiss Biotech Report 2007, the past year has been exceptionally successful for biotech companies in Switzerland.
Solid growth for biotech companies in Switzerland
Various biotech and pharma start-ups listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange showed impressive overall growth (accounting for both, stock price and private investment): Actelion, well on its way towards its first billion CHF in annual sales even before the company’s 10th birthday, achieved 151%; Cytos grew 132%; and Arpida registered a strong result of +93% after a slow start. Basilea (+53%) and Speedel (+18%) also exceeded the Swiss Market Index of +16%.
In the past twelve months, three Italian biotech companies, BioXell, Newron Pharmaceuticals and Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, went public on SWX by crossborder listing. Together, the three companies have raised more than EUR 140 million, of which EUR 75 million alone is attributable to the IPO of Newron, making it the largest European biotech IPO in 2006. SWX Swiss Exchange has accounted for the largest IPOs in terms of transaction size in Europe for the last three years.
About the Greater Zurich Area AG
The Greater Zurich Area AG, a nonprofit organization, is the marketing association for the Greater Zurich Area business region. It recruits international companies abroad and assists them with setting up companies and making investments in the Greater Zurich Area. Its sponsor is the “Stiftung Greater Zurich Area Standortmarketing,” a public-private partnership that was established in November 1998. Since that time, its membership has grown to include the cantons of Aargau, Glarus, Graubünden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn and Zürich, the cities of Zürich and Winterthur, and several businesses.
www.greaterzuricharea.ch
About Swiss Biotech
The Swiss Biotech label was created in order to bolster the Swiss biotech scene at home and abroad and to ensure a uniform image. Swiss Biotech is a consortium of the Swiss biotech regions Bioalps, Biopolo, BaselArea and the Greater Zurich Area. Further members of this marketing alliance are SWX Swiss Exchange and the Swiss Biotech Association.
www.swissbiotech.org
For further information, please contact:
Marc Neumann, International Media Relations,
Greater Zurich Area AG, New York
Phone +1 212 427 7185
marc.neumann(at)greaterzuricharea.ch
###
Post Comment:
Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/RmFsdS1IYWxmLVByb2YtUHJvZi1NYWduLVplcm8=
Bookmark -
Del.icio.us |
Digg |
Furl It |
Spurl |
RawSugar |
Simpy |
Shadows |
Blink It |
My Web
|
Share The News
Submit this press release easily to any of these major bookmarking and social media sites.