The
quarterly newsletter of scienceindustries, the Swiss Business
Association Chemistry Pharma Life Sciences, keeps you abreast of current
business and social issues.
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Referendums of 19 May 2019: Voters support Switzerland as a business location
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Drinking water and pesticide ban initiatives: no need for counterproposals
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Responsible Business Initiative RBI and its counterproposal are toxic for Switzerland as a business location
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Business sector wants to quickly clear up the open issues concerning the institutional framework agreement
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Minimum standards for the protection of intellectual property are mandatory
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SECO publishes Brexit FAQs
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Animal testing is essential for medicinal product research
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Swiss Biotech Report 2019: Swiss biotech industry remains successful
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High
school class of Solothurn Cantonal School wins SimplyScience
Foundation's fifth national “Science on the Move” laboratory competition
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Benefits paid for cooperation between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers are disclosed for the fourth time
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Andreas
Bohrer, Carlo Centonze, Valerie Diele-Braun , Markus Gautschi and
Matthias Halusa have been elected as the new members of the Board of
scienceindustries
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New: scienceindustries mobile app for members
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Referendums of 19 May 2019: voters support Switzerland as a business location
The
chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries are delighted
about the adoption of the AHV tax proposal and the approval of the
revised firearm legislation given by the voters on 19 May 2019. This
means that Switzerland remains one of the top tax locations in the
world. By saying yes to the revised firearm legislation, Swiss voters
have confirmed their support of the important bilateral relationship.
More information about the most recent referendums can be found in the press release (only available in German).
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Drinking water and pesticide ban initiatives: no need for counterproposals
scienceindustries
decisively rejects both initiatives because they are extreme and
threaten progress and innovation. A counterproposal is not necessary as
the state with the agricultural policy and various strategies and action
plans drawn up by the Federal government (sustainability strategy,
action plan for plant protection products, antibiotics strategy,
biodiversity strategy, plant and animal breeding strategy) already has
sufficient options and tools to ensure even better environmental
protection - and in particular effective water protection - in
Switzerland. Instead of counterproposals at the legislative or
constitutional levels, the action plan for plant protection products
must be consistently pursued and the public be regularly informed about
the successes achieved by the risk minimisation measures.
Read this press release (only available in German) for more information.
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Responsible Business Initiative RBI and its counterproposal are toxic for Switzerland as a business location
The
demands of the RBI with its almost unlimited possibilities of filing
suit in Switzerland are excessive and should be rejected. Its acceptance
will lead to increased red tape in Switzerland and expose companies to
the additional risk of legal action from all corners of the world. The
RBI demands the unlimited liability in Switzerland of Swiss parent
companies for all “internationally recognised human rights and
international environmental standards” for the entire supply chain of
foreign third-party companies as well as the reversal of the burden of
proof. Switzerland will also be the legal venue for all disputes,
regardless of existing options for filing suit abroad. As this liability
concept would be without international parallel, Switzerland is in
danger of going this route on its own, which would have a serious
negative impact on Switzerland's attractiveness as a business
location.
The National Council's counterproposal does not definitively correct the
faulty concepts of the initiative and the basis of liability is still
much too open. Any counterproposal must take sufficient account of these
concerns and lead to a withdrawal of the initiative. This could not be
achieved up till now.
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Business sector wants to quickly clear up the open issues concerning the institutional framework agreement
Together
with the business associations economiesuisse, Swissmem and the Swiss
Bankers Association, scienceindustries is demanding fast action which is
independent of the termination initiative. According to the reply
sent to Federal President Ueli Maurer by Jean-Claude Juncker, the
President of the European Commission, the ongoing discussions will
end on 18 June. The Federal Council now has to clear up the open issues
with the EU Commission without delay. The EU for its part should
refrain from taking any discriminatory measures against Switzerland.
For more information, please read the joint press release by economiesuisse, Swissmem, Swiss Bankers Association and scienceindustries (only available in German).
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Minimum standards for the protection of intellectual property are mandatory
Together
with Interpharma and the Swiss Biotech Association, scienceindustries
has requested the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO in a
letter to clarify the situation with regard to the protection of
intellectual property. Shortly after signing the free trade agreement
with the EFTA states, Indonesia issued an implementing ordinance that
will relax compulsory licence requirements for products that were not
produced locally. This clearly runs counter to the outcome of the
negotiations, i.e. Indonesia’s agreement to align its patent legislation
more strongly to the TRIPS agreement.
The expectations of scienceindustries of a free trade agreement with the Mercosur countries have been set out in a one-page document.
This document was made available to SECO, the Brazilian ABIQUIM
association and the Argentinian CIQyP association, together with the
position paper "FTA – objectives of scienceindustries". scienceindustries is still keeping a very close eye on the negotiations.
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SECO publishes Brexit FAQs
After
the resignation of UK prime minister Theresa May it is still unclear
how Brexit will proceed. scienceindustries strongly supported the
Federal Council's “Mind the Gap” strategy. The consultation process has
started for the proposed trade agreement. An agreement with the United
Kingdom regarding the mutual recognition of certificates of conformity
has been reached for 3 of the 20 chapters of the Mutual Recognition
Agreement (MRA) between Switzerland and the EU, i.e. Good Manufacturing
Practice GMP, Good Laboratory Practice GLP and vehicles. The UK still
unilaterally recognises the authorised representatives for the following
product sectors in the MRA between Switzerland and the EU: 2, 4-9,
11, 16, 17, 19 and 20. SECO has now published the long awaited FAQs
about the consequences for Switzerland of a no-deal Brexit scenario
between the EU and the UK that were requested by the business sector.
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Animal testing is essential for medicinal product research
The
pharmaceutical industry welcomes the rejection by 17 to 8 votes by
CSEC-N of Parliamentary Initiative 18.491 “Ban on severe-constraint
testing of animals”. Animal testing is essential and in many cases
prescribed by law for the development of new and innovative therapies
and safe medicinal products against serious and at present incurable
diseases. The current legal framework as a whole guarantees
ethically responsible research and defines sufficiently restrictive
criteria for severity 3 experiments (severe constraint). Animal testing
as well as clinical trials are essential for medical progress and
innovative and effective medicinal products. The pharmaceutical industry
is aware of its responsibility and complies with the Animal Welfare
Act. Parliamentary Initiative 18.491 is expected to be debated by the
National Council in autumn.
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Swiss Biotech Report 2019: Swiss biotech industry remains successful
Compared
to the previous year, the Swiss biotech industry once again increased
its revenues, exports and research investments, with capital investments
in listed biotech companies growing by leaps and bounds. This is
confirmed by the Swiss Biotech Report 2019,
which is published annually by scienceindustries and other important
players and provides an overview of the dynamic development of the
biotech sector. The scienceindustries contribution showcases CAR-T cell
therapy to emphasize how important the willingness to go a new way is
for bringing innovative products to market.
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High
school class of Solothurn Cantonal School wins SimplyScience
Foundation's fifth national “Science on the Move” laboratory competition
550
learners from 28 high schools in all three language regions
participated in this year's “Science on the Move” competition supported
by Roche. On the day of the final in Basel, a jury consisting of
experts from the fields of science, education and industry announced
Class B16a from the Solothurn Cantonal School to be the winner of the
competition for high school classes.
The competition promotes scientific curiosity, enthusiasm and team work
among the participants. High school classes joined forces to design and
build models of a (bio-) chemical process selected by them. In addition
to the model, classes taking part in the competition also had to prepare
a scientific poster and a two-minute video. Based on these
contributions, 10 school classes went through to the final and presented
their ideas in the form of creative performances at Roche in Basel. The
prize for the winners from Solothurn is a one-week research trip to
London, while the other finalists won a scientific excursion in
Switzerland.
More information can be found at SimplyScience.ch.
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Benefits paid for cooperation between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers are disclosed for the fourth time
As
in the three previous years, some 60 pharmaceutical companies active in
Switzerland disclose the benefits paid for advisory and other services
to healthcare providers on their websites by 30 June 2019.
The exchange between pharmaceutical companies and doctors, pharmacists,
hospitals, research institutions and patient organisations is crucial in
researching and developing new medicines and therapies. New therapies
can only be developed and tested and existing therapies improved as part
of an ongoing exchange of experiences. This leads to various
cooperation partnerships between the industry and healthcare providers,
such as joint research projects, speakers at conferences, collaboration
on advisory boards, and many more. These diverse activities by
healthcare providers deserve to be suitably compensated.
To make these relationships more transparent for the public, some 60
pharmaceutical companies disclose their cooperation payments on their
websites. Measured against turnover, this is estimated to cover around
85% of the entire Swiss market for prescription drugs. This initiative
aims to further strengthen the trust placed in the healthcare and
research sectors.
You can find more information here.
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Andreas
Bohrer, Carlo Centonze, Valerie Diele-Braun, Markus Gautschi and
Matthias Halusa have been elected as the new members of the Board of
scienceindustries
The
137th Annual General Meeting of scienceindustries, the Business
Association Chemistry Pharma Life Sciences, took place at Bachem AG in
Bubendorf BL under the auspices of its Chairman, Matthias Leuenberger.
The Annual General Meeting elected, Prof. Andreas Bohrer, Lonza Group
AG, Carlo Centonze, Emanuele Centonze Holding AG, Valerie Diele-Braun,
CABB AG, Markus Gautschi, Givaudan Schweiz AG and Matthias Halusa, BASF
Schweiz AG as the new members of the Board of scienceindustries.
Read the press release for more information (available in German and French).
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New: scienceindustries mobile app for members
The
new scienceindustries app gives our members direct access at any time
even while travelling to all information on its website and its
Membernet. The app can be downloaded free of charge from Google Play and the App Store.
After you have downloaded the app you only have to log on to Membernet
once to select the areas of interest to you in order to receive daily
push messages about the most important news affecting the chemistry,
pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. You can also manage the
push service directly in Membernet at www.scienceindustries.ch.
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scienceindustries
is the Swiss business association for the chemical, pharmaceutical and
life sciences industries. Its around 250 member companies generate more
than 98% of their revenues abroad. As Switzerland's biggest export
industry, this sector contributes 45% to total exports and almost 40% to
private research expenses in Switzerland
Stephan Mumenthaler, Director
Marcel Sennhauser, Deputy Director - Head of Communication
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scienceindustries Business Association Chemistry Pharma Life Sciences
Nordstrasse 15 | P. O. Box| CH-8021 Zürich
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