SwedenBIO has a long history of engaging with actors in Switzerland to help companies from both countries meet and do business. The exchanges and contacts have evolved over the years and matured to the extent that SwedenBIO arranged a Nordic delegation to Swiss Biotech Day in 2025. Seven companies joined the delegation that promoted Sweden and the Nordics through a dedicated pavilion as well as tailored visits and activities.
Johan Juhlin, CEO of Mavatar, was one of the member company representatives that joined the SwedenBIO-led delegation. A former employee of Roche and with an existing network in Switzerland, he explains that there’s great value in joining such a delegation, especially for companies with no existing network in Switzerland.
– We see great opportunities for collaboration in drug development and are set to hire staff locally in Switzerland whom we met during the delegation”, he says, pointing out that there are many areas that can be jointly developed: “Sweden is highly advanced in digital health, and Switzerland has specialist expertise in drug development. This opens the door to potential synergies–especially as drug development becomes more digital and interest in AI continues to grow.”
Johan Juhlin underlines the shared values between the two countries and how it facilitates collaboration in the sector.
– Since Sweden and Switzerland are very similar and share the same values–such as the handling of patient data, advanced healthcare, and well-developed research and development–this also creates further opportunities for collaboration between our countries.”
“It is not a coincidence that our two countries are often mixed up”
Echoing Johan Juhlin, the CEO of Swiss Biotech Association, Michael Altorfer, also sees shared values as a common platform to build upon.
– Collaboration between Sweden and Switzerland is particularly easy and maybe it is not a coincidence that our two countries are often mixed up by other global partners. But there are indeed so many similarities that collaboration from a cultural perspective pose hardly any challenges. Communication is clear, we both share many other objectives way beyond biotech and we have many platforms that facilitate collaborations (e.g. Horizon Europe, Eureka, and many more). The Swiss and Swedish biotech hubs demonstrate already today almost all possible combinations in active collaboration projects, he explains.
In what areas do the life science industries of the two countries complement each other?
– We are very similar at many levels and thus the similarities exceed the number of areas where the countries are complementary. Given our geographic location it is natural that the two countries can serve as gateways to other regions to which the countries have established privileged relations. I also anticipate many opportunities to engage in the formation of international alliances, such as the Eureka network or multinational regulatory collaborations. Alliances of leading hospitals, universities, public/private research institutions and the complementary networks of biotech investors.
Are there any challenges in expanding and deepening the cooperation?
– From my perspective there are only two challenges to overcome; the first is to ensure that the business leaders know each other: Despite all the similarities, still many of the biotech business leaders in the two countries don’t know each other and thus do not collaborate. The second is that the two countries should not view each other to be in a competitive situation but realize that collaboration in the development of innovative tools for the global market is the key to success. The competition lies in the question whether the products we jointly develop are useful and offer value creation. The competition is not in whether each country can generate such products on its own.
How SwedenBIO is helping its members engage with Swiss life science
For Marjo Puumalainen, International Director at SwedenBIO, Switzerland is a country she knows well, having spent time studying in Zurich and visiting regularly.
What is your understanding of the differences and similarities between the two countries when it comes to innovation and life science?
– Both countries have good academic research, and Sweden’s speciality is of course the teacher’s exemption which has helped us become an innovative country, meanwhile Switzerland has universities that rank very highly on number of patents filed. Both countries also have well-established incubators, science labs and clusters, so we are similar on many points.
SwedenBIO has promoted different types of interactions with the Swiss life science ecosystem since many years, why is this important?
– Switzerland is the best player within biotech in Europe, so I think partnering with the best is a good strategy.
What are the differences are there when you zoom in on the life science sectors of each country?
– The biggest difference between the two countries is perhaps in pharma. Sweden has unfortunately lost most of its big pharma and especially their R&D, while in Switzerland this sector is still very strong so when a company is seeking business development they are quite often looking to actors in Switzerland. Also, Swiss biotech companies are bigger than the Swedish ones, so this mid-size segment is stronger in Switzerland. If you’re a tiny Swedish biotech it’s not always easy to engage with big pharma, while the mid-size segment can be quite interesting to cooperate with and co-develop assets with, and these Swiss companies are much better funded than in Sweden, meaning there are very nice opportunities.
What are the opportunities like when it comes to seeking Swiss investors?
– I think Swiss investors are interested in syndicating with Swedish and Nordic companies. Swiss investors can be somewhat traditional, but we have seen deals where Swiss investors have invested in Swedish companies. There is also the family office business on a completely different level than in Sweden. Many of them consist of sports stars and other wealthy celebrities living in Switzerland with roots from Sweden and they have an interest in investing in Swedish companies.
What kind of support can SwedenBIO offer member companies who are interested in the Swiss life science industry?
– Our activities are based on mainly two events, Swiss Nordic Bio that takes place in March of each year, where get a good discount for our members, and also, we’re active participants in the Swiss Biotech Day, where we hopefully will be able to expand our presence. Moreover, we have a good network in Switzerland so whether you’re interested in looking for investors, pharma, biotech’s – we have good connections through the Swiss Biotec Assocation and the Swiss Global Enterprise, who help companies to establish in Switzerland.
