Switzerland partners with BioAsia2020; seeks closer ties with Indian Lifesciences industry

Hyderabad: Switzerland, consistently ranked no.1 in innovation, is widely known for innovation in big pharma with the presence of eminent pharma and life-sciences companies like Novartis, Roche, Lonza, Ferring Pharma, etc. The country is looking to forge closer ties with India which has grown to be a significant player in life sciences industry globally and has now partnered with the most widely attended life sciences convention BioAsia, as the Country Partner for the 17th edition, BioAsia 2020.

Switzerland has a thriving ecosystem that’s hugely powered by innovation in academia and startups. This, coupled with the ease of doing business and policies to attract and retain talent, make Switzerland the breeding ground for cutting-edge technologies and solutions. Switzerland’s strength in healthtech is unparalleled with over 1,400 companies employing 58,500 professionals and generating CHF 15.8 Billion in revenue (in 2018). Swiss MedTech industry contributes 2.3% of the country’s GDP. The Swiss Biotech industry alone is home to 312 companies, generating a revenue of CHF 4 Billion whilst investing over CHF 1.5 Billion in R&D, yearly.

Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce and Information Technology, Govt of Telangana said “Switzerland has an outstanding reputation globally as an extremely specialized production location for innovative lifescience products. This has become possible with an incredible focus on science backed by country’s strong academics in applied sciences and financially sound and research-based pharmaceutical companies. Telangana is a State committed to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, and the focus of BioAsia has been centered around innovation over the years. Hence, we are truly delighted to welcome Switzerland onboard as the Country partner this 17th edition of BioAsia. Both Telangana and Switzerland have inherent strengths in life sciences and bringing them together will drive significant developments in the life sciences industry globally.”

“Switzerland recognizes India as a strategic partner in healthtech. Hyderabad being one of the prominent hubs in life sciences and healthtech has been an attractive ecosystem for us to engage with. As a country partner at BioAsia, we’re bringing a holistic representation of the Swiss healthtech ecosystem spanning from corporates to startups to academia to investors. We’re eager to collaborate with the key players in India and pursue new solutions today, for tomorrow,” said Ms. Silvana Renggli-Frey, Deputy Consul General – Consulate General of Switzerland.

More than a 1/3rd of Swiss exports come from the pharmaceutical industry making it a significant contributor to the overall economy of Switzerland. Switzerland has placed itself as one of the most important stock exchanges for lifescience companies in Europe. There is an increasing interest from innovation centers, startups and universities to engage with India. For start-ups, the aim of Swiss organizations is to engage with drug development and product design services to achieve faster, safer drugs & devices in niche markets. Cantonal representatives of Switzerland are interested in leveraging BioAsia for investment opportunities in Switzerland. Indian companies can invest into Swiss cantons to avail the manufacturing facilities and specialized technologies that is a win-win for India and Switzerland alike.

Mr. E V Narasimha Reddy, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, TSIIC said, “There are several Swiss based companies like Novartis, Lonza, Ferring, to name a few, which have large operations in Telangana. This showcases the close relationship the state has cultivated with Switzerland. Through platforms like BioAsia we are working towards attracting more Swiss organizations to Telangana.”

BioAsia has benefitted from its extraordinary participant history including Nobel Laureates, Lasker Awardees, Breakthrough Prize winners, Food Laureates, established scientific and industry leaders, amongst others. This year too, BioAsia will bring a galaxy of established and next generation Leaders including Mr. Vas Narasimhan (CEO, Novartis), Dr. Carl June (University of Pennsylvania & CAR-T Expert), Dr. Peter Piot (Director, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Co-Discoverer of Ebola), Mrs. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (CMD, Biocon), Mr. Dilip Shanghvi (Chairman, Sun Pharma), Dr. Swati Piramal (VC, Piramal), among others.

“The event will attract participation of leaders from over 50 Countries. Its been a tradition to invite a Partner Country and we are truly delighted to welcome Switzerland as the Country Partner for the first time which only goes to show the rapid growth in scale and magnitude of the event. We have had the pleasure of hosting Norway, UK, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, South Africa among others as Country Partners in the past years” added Mr. Shakthi Nagappan, Director (Life Sciences and Pharma), Govt of Telangana and CEO – BioAsia.

With the theme of – Today For Tomorrow – BioAsia 2020, to be held between 17th to 19th February 2020 at Hyderabad, will explore the capabilities that Life sciences companies should invest in Today to thrive and create value Tomorrow. Currently newer technologies, and ubiquity of data and analytics is continuing to blur the traditional boundaries between therapeutics, medical technologies, consumer devices and information technology (IT). This rapidly evolving superfluid market is putting pressure on the life sciences companies to change their business models and personalize their products and services. Hence, at BioAsia 2020, these companies will deliberate on how they should be preparing themselves for the coming future.