According to Swiss Biotech’s 2018 report, the biotechnology industry in Switzerland brought in revenues of CHF 3.8 billion ($3.8 billion) in 2017, a 14.4% increase.As of 2017, there were 237 biotech development companies and 60 biotech supplier companies in the country.

The sector as a whole generated CHF 1.6 billion ($1.6 billion) in new capital last year, with public companies accounting for 61% of new capital, or CHF 978 million ($987.4 million), and private companies representing CHF 666 million ($672.4 million). R&D expenses for Swiss biotech companies also increased in 2017, jumping 22.1% to CHF 1.4 million ($1.4 million).

Numerous M&A deals took place in 2017, including the acquisitions of Swiss biotech companies Cliatus Biopharma, Humabs BioMed and Inno 4 Cell by Irish Malin, Vir Biotechnology and Elanix Biotechnologies, respectively. New or extended collaborations were also prominent in in 2017, including partnerships between Anokion and Celgene; Idorsia, Janssen Biotech and Roche; and Selexis, Merck KGaA, Sanofi and Takeda.

A trend towards portfolio management–type deals also emerged, as many pharmaceutical firms partnered with private equity companies for assets that could provide high returns on investment, but are not prioritized by pharmaceutical companies due to these firms’ R&D for more specialized treatments. This new trend resulted in the establishment of a “discovery engine” outfitted with its own labs in the Basel Technology Park by Versant Ventures and Ridgeline Therapeutics.

Swiss Biotech predicts that private equity firms will soon approach biotech companies with the same partnership offer, as biotech companies also conduct similar portfolio management and have comparable R&D priorities.

Source: Swiss Biotech