A High Concentration of Expertise in a small area

Annette Luther holds a doctorate in biomedical sciences and is President of scienceindustries, the Swiss association of the chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries, as well as Head of External Affairs Switzerland at Roche. In this interview, she discusses what makes Switzerland stand out as a life sciences hub, where it needs to catch up and what role AI will play.

Ms Luther, as President of scienceindustries, how do you assess Switzerland’s position as a life sciences hub compared with other countries today? 

Switzerland has been a leading location for innovative life sciences companies for more than 100 years. But we cannot take our position at the top for granted. Looking at innovation rankings over recent years, Switzerland is still among the leaders, but it is losing ground. In particular, we have lost our lead in innovation and technological leadership. We have excellent foundations, but other countries make decisions faster and invest more aggressively.

Where will Switzerland stand in five years if the framework conditions remain unchanged?

An innovation hub does not lose its strength overnight. It happens one investment decision at a time. Today, a clinical trial may go abroad; tomorrow, a production line. After a few years, it is not just individual investments that are missing, but also suppliers, skilled workers and new companies. Switzerland may still be an important life sciences hub in five years. The question is: will the next generation of innovation still emerge here?

What currently makes Switzerland unique as a life sciences hub, and which advantages are at risk of eroding?

Our greatest strength is the remarkable concentration of expertise within a small area: world-class research, universities, start-ups, global companies, specialist suppliers and advanced manufacturing that complement and reinforce one another. In Switzerland, an idea can move from the laboratory into practical use faster than elsewhere. Other locations have recognised this and are investing strategically in innovation. They are speeding up procedures and offering more usable health data, more efficient networks and more predictable conditions. That creates strong competition for Switzerland.

Which countries are you watching most closely as competitors in research, development and manufacturing?

The United States and China are both seeking leadership in innovative life sciences. The US has always been strong, while China is making rapid progress. The US stands out for its innovation and access to capital. China is investing heavily and has become very fast in research and clinical trials. Denmark also shows how a small country can succeed by creating the right conditions. All three combine a high level of digitalisation with fast decision-making. Switzerland needs to catch up in these areas.

Which political and regulatory changes are most urgently needed to safeguard Switzerland’s capacity for innovation?

Innovation needs to be rewarded more in Switzerland. That includes fair reimbursement for new medicines and therapies. Those who spend years conducting research, take substantial risks and improve the lives of people with illnesses need the prospect of an appropriate return. At the same time, regulatory processes must become faster. If Switzerland is too slow with permits, approvals and reimbursement decisions, patients ultimately suffer. We also need to make health data easier to use and ensure reliable protection for intellectual property. Switzerland must be a country where the innovation developed here also reaches the people who live here.

What specific potential do you see in AI and health data for research and manufacturing in the Swiss life sciences industry?

AI will revolutionise the life sciences industry. You can think of drug development as a search among millions of possible paths. AI can help identify much earlier which paths are promising and which lead to a dead end. In manufacturing, AI can monitor processes, detect errors earlier and save resources. This can speed up development and make production more efficient. But AI is only as good as the data it works with. And this is an area where Switzerland falls short.

How does Switzerland compare internationally when it comes to health data, and what is holding back its use here?

It is a paradox: we have outstanding research expertise and high-quality health data. Yet access to that data is complicated, slow and governed by unclear rules. As a result, Switzerland lags well behind other countries in making health data usable. We now need clear standards and rules, along with secure access procedures that ensure data protection at all times. Only then can we use health data for research and better care.

Automation is also changing manufacturing. What opportunities and risks do you see for Swiss production sites?

Wages and production costs are high in Switzerland. Automation helps our industries remain competitive despite these costs. It allows us to manufacture complex, high-quality products efficiently. Robots are already well established in manufacturing across many industries, and this development will continue in combination with AI. At the same time, automation and robotics are changing jobs. Education and continuing training need to keep pace.

The pandemic exposed weaknesses in global supply chains. What specific changes has the Swiss life sciences industry made since then?

Today, companies are much more likely to ask: what happens if a supplier fails or a transport route is disrupted? Alongside cost, resilience now plays a more important role than it used to. Many companies have reassessed critical materials, established additional sources of supply, adjusted safety stocks, scrutinised suppliers more closely and adopted a more systematic approach to crisis planning.

Should Switzerland bring certain stages of production back into the country, and can it do so? Or is broader supply chain diversification enough?

For certain strategically important products or capabilities, bringing production back to Switzerland can make sense. But Switzerland cannot possibly produce everything itself. What matters is retaining key research and manufacturing capabilities in the country. At the same time, we need multiple reliable sources of supply wherever possible. Security of supply means remaining able to act even in a crisis.

How resilient are the industry’s supply chains today, and where do problematic dependencies remain?

The Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical industries source many raw materials, intermediate products and active pharmaceutical ingredients from abroad. It is therefore essential that we understand critical dependencies and have alternatives. A risk arises, for example, when an important active ingredient is produced by only a few manufacturers or when a major transport route is disrupted. We cannot protect ourselves against every risk, but we must prepare for the biggest ones.

You mentioned education and continuing training. How acute is the shortage of skilled workers in the Swiss life sciences industry today?

Our industries are feeling the shortage particularly in technical and scientific occupations. Laboratory technicians and skilled production workers are in especially high demand. Automation and the use of AI also require people who understand processes and know how to use technology effectively. We therefore need to train more skilled workers in Switzerland, make it easier for people to enter the industry from other fields and remain open to international talent.

Which skills will be needed in the future that are not yet given enough attention in education and training?

We need people who can bring together science, technology and data. Not every laboratory technician needs to know how to code. But they should understand what AI can do, how to assess its results and where its limits lie. At the same time, distinctly human qualities remain important: judgement, creativity, responsibility and collaboration.

What specific steps is scienceindustries taking to attract and retain skilled workers?

Through our SimplyScience foundation, we aim to spark an interest in science among children and young people through playful, hands-on activities. With “Talents in Science”, we show them the specific careers our industry offers. We also work with companies to develop and update vocational training programmes. We want to inspire young people — especially young women — to engage with science so that they can help write the next chapter of Switzerland’s life sciences success story.

If you could ask Swiss policymakers for one thing to strengthen the country as a life sciences hub, what would it be?

A working group established by Federal Councillors Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and Guy Parmelin is currently developing a strategy to strengthen Switzerland as a life sciences hub. It is intended to cover the key areas for action. But my greatest wish is simple: policies that support innovation. As a small, high-cost country, Switzerland cannot compete on volume and low prices. Our strength has always been to make better products than others and bring them to markets around the world. We need to protect this model: innovation must continue to be rewarded.