Innovation as the cornerstone for a successful future

Executive Summary

Chemical and pharmaceutical industry stands out for its first-rate competitiveness

The Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industry is of major significance for the country’s growth and prosperity. Its very high international competitiveness has allowed it to benefit considerably from favourable global trends in demand over the last ten years, making it the main growth engine of the Swiss economy.

This high degree of competitiveness is also a result of the first Global Industry Competitiveness Index (GICI) by BAK Economics, which ranks the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industry in second place globally. The most competitive nation is USA, with Ireland in the third position.

It is not just its successful performance that demonstrates how competitive the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industry is –above all, it is the sector’s strength in innovation: Swiss companies invest heavily and with success in research and development of new products. By doing this, they are laying the foundation to hold their own against the global competition in the future.

This is also necessary as the competition especially regarding innovation is increasing sharply. Asian countries, especially China, continue to step ahead in cutting-edge research. It is therefore all the more important that Switzerland can to continue to be able to play the trump card of being a first-rate, dependable business location. This includes comprehensive access to foreign labour markets, which is at risk due to upcoming vote on the “Immigration limitation Initiative”. Without freedom of movement with the EU, Switzerland as a location would be much less favourably placed in terms of corporate competitiveness in the global struggle for talent and top researchers.