annual report · actelion 12 debiopharm 14 helsinn 16 venture, venturelab, venture kick 18 werner...

The central resource for the Swiss biotech industry

Annual Report2019

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ImpressumPublisher: Swiss Biotech AssociationConcept and text: Sabine Bamert, Michael Altorfer, Swiss Biotech AssociationLayout: Greg Nielsen, Nielsen DesignPictures: Swiss Biotech Association Print: Schmid-Fehr AG Climate-neutral print on wood-free, matt coated paper

neutralDrucksache

No. 01-20-903020 – www.myclimate.org© myclimate – The Climate Protection Partnership

PERFORMANCE

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ContentsGreat year for start-ups and strong expansion of production capacity 4

The Swiss biotech hub: Stronger and more diverse 5

Fostering networking at events 6

Swiss Biotech Success Stories 8Open up your network 10Awarded companies 2019 11Awarded companies 2020

Actelion 12Debiopharm 14Helsinn 16Venture, Venturelab, Venture Kick 18Werner Arber 20

Partner network 22

Development in numbers 23

In the media 24

Services and publications 25

Our members 26

Financial statements 2019 28

About the Swiss Biotech Association 30

Outlook 2020 32

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Great year for start-ups and strong expansion of production capacity

The Swiss biotech community grew successfully in 2019. We can celebrate a great year for new start-up companies as more than 40 new biotech companies were founded. This demonstrates the continued strong growth and vitality of the biotech community in Switzerland.

Why do we see this constantly increasing number of new biotechs in Switzerland? There are several engines of growth. One is the array of top academic institutions in Switzerland where world-leading research is ongoing. Today, academia actively supports entrepreneurship and encourages scientists to engage in the new experience of starting a company.

Another important engine is the talent pool made up of the large pharma and established biotech companies in Switzerland. Here we see a continuous flow of highly experienced people making the transition out of large or-ganizations and into smaller biotechs, or even founding spin-offs from larger organizations.

Not only do we see a strong growth in start-ups, but we also see a strong commit-ment from several large pharma companies to increase their footprint in Switzerland. In 2019, this was particularly notable as several companies made major investments in new production capabilities for biotech products.

Such new facilities include Biogen’s antibody manufacturing in Luterbach (scheduled to open in 2020), CSL’s immunoglobulin production in Bern, and Novartis’ recently-opened cell and gene therapy site in Stein. They will create hun-dreds of new and highly qualified positions in Switzerland and further strengthen the biotech community both nationally and internationally.

At the Swiss Biotech Association, we are committed to continuously improving our framework conditions so as to help grow our industry in Switzerland. I would like to thank members of the association for their continu-ous support which plays such an important part in enabling us to do this and to thereby advance our industry.

Sincerely yours,

Dominik Escher President Swiss Biotech Association

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The Swiss biotech hub: Stronger and more diverse

As we enter a new decade, Switzerland can rely on a comprehensive life sciences ecosystem with very favorable framework conditions. Sweeping tax reforms, which come into effect in 2020, provide sub-stantial tax deductions for innovations made in Switzerland.

The Swiss biotech industry recorded some major highlights in 2019:

X For the third year in a row, Swiss Biotech R&D companies attracted more than CHF 1 billion new capital (2017 - 2019: average CHF 1.5 billion/year)

X Annual R&D investments by Swiss biotech companies for the first time exceeded CHF 2 billion in 2019, an increase of almost 50% in just three years

X The number of employees increased by more than 10% in the same three year period

X The value of the three largest M&A transac-tions in 2019 (Therachon, Novimmune, Amal Therapeutics) exceeded CHF 1.6 billion

X Over a five year period (2015-2019) the SIX Bio & Medtech Market Index outperformed the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index by 46%

The Swiss Biotech Association supported the industry with new networking and promo-tional platforms and corroborated the power and opportunities the industry offers to international talents, investors and business partners:

Over 1,000 companies are now listed in the Swiss Biotech Directory

Swiss pavilions at Bio US and Bio Europe provided a powerful networking presence for the Swiss biotech industry at the largest international partnering conventions

The annual industry convention Swiss Biotech Day attracted more than 850 participants in 2019

Swiss Biotech Insight Meetings highlight key topics of the drug development value chain.

Swiss Biotech Success Stories honor out-standing achievements. In 2019 the award went to: Biogen, Okairos, Roche Glycart, Selexis, and Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma

Jobs platform enables all Swiss biotech companies to post open positions

Collaborations with Biocentury, Helvetia insurance and many new partners of the Swiss Biotech Academy platform expanded the range of member benefits

47 new members joined the Swiss Biotech Association in 2019, expanding the member base to 268 companies. This strong support helps us to strengthen our impact and to de-liver on our mission. Our objectives for 2020 are outlined on page 32.

We encourage you to reach out to the as-sociation board members and management team (see page 30) to provide feedback and support us in being a strong voice for the Swiss biotech ecosystem.

Yours faithfully,

Michael Altorfer CEO

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Fostering networking at eventsMai 2019: Swiss Biotech Day, Basel

More than 850 life science industry repre-sentatives across Europe visited the Swiss Biotech Day in Basel. The industry continues to be buoyant as presented in the Swiss Biotech Report (swissbiotech.org/report). And once again, outstanding achievers received the Swiss Biotech Success Stories Awards, demonstrating the diversity of this

important economic sector. The Swiss Bio-tech Association nominated five laureates for the Swiss Biotech Success Stories Awards in recognition of outstanding achievements: Actelion, Debiopharm, Helsinn, biotech startup supporters Venture, Venturelab, and Venture Kick, as well as Nobel Prize winner Prof. Dr Werner Arber.

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The Swiss Pavilions, powered by Switzerland Global Enterprise and the Swiss Biotech Association, presented the Swiss biotech industry at the most relevant biotech conventions in the US and Europe and reached thousands of attendees.

June & November 2019: BIO International Convention, Philadelphia & BIO-Europe, Hamburg

September 2019: Swiss Biotech Insight event, Lausanne

The Swiss Biotech Association launched the Insight event series, designed to cover a portfolio of topics mirroring the biopharma product life cycle, namely from ideation and research to commercialization and patient benefit.

12 speakers from three continents and 150 participants explored today’s major clinical trial strategy challenges.

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SWISS BIOTECH SUCCESS STORIESCelebrating and honoring major achievements

Swiss Biotech Success Stories demonstrate the power and potential of the industryThe Swiss Biotech Success Stories Awards recognize valuable accomplishments and honor those who have made important and sustainable contributions to the biotech industry in Switzerland. The awards are presented each year at the Swiss Biotech Day and reflect the diversity and achievements of this innovative sector.

Switzerland is one of the world’s leading biotech hubs and attracts many foreign companies, specialists and investors. It provides over 50,000 jobs and, together with the pharmaceutical and chemical industries, accounts for almost half of Swiss exports.

To make the industry’s impact more visible, the Swiss Biotech Success Stories initiative was launched in 2018. Selected success stories are showcased to illustrate how Swiss biotech companies help patients, improve health care worldwide, and make a valuable and significant contribution to the Swiss and global economy.

Laureates are individuals or groups who have earned extraordinary merits. Success is broadly defined as scientific, translational,

medical or commercial, together with other aspects that have a positive impact on the biotech and life science industry and society in Switzerland.

“It is essential to share with the public the importance and success factors of biotech companies and ensure that decision-makers understand what it takes for the industry to develop and remain competitive,” says Michael Altorfer, CEO of the Swiss Biotech Association. “Young talent should be inspired and motivated to take a closer look at the great variety of career profiles in biotech.”

12 success categories X Completed achievement with lasting impact

X Scientific breakthrough

X New technology

X Strong impact on society

X Product approval and sustainable revenues

X Important IP, innovative deal-making, acquisition

X Involvement of one or more Swiss citizens

X Swiss-based company / institution

X Creation of jobs in Switzerland

X Other aspect with a direct link to Switzerland

X Enabler for the biotech industry

X Swissness: Think global, made in Switzerland

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A big thank you to our partnersGold sponsor Silver sponsors

The Swiss Biotech Success Stories Awards are also supported by

| Basel-Stadt | INNOTIO

An independent jury of experts

Luca BolligerPresident of the jury

Vice President of the Swiss Biotech Association

Thomas StaffelbachSecretary of the jury

Ulrich GeilingerHead of Private Equity HBM Partners

Robert LussiBranch Manager Mirabaud Basel

Birgit VoigtBusiness journalist at NZZ am Sonntag

Gabrielle GachePresident of Swiss Health-care Licensing Group Head Strategy and BD&L at OM Pharma

Jürg ZürcherPartner, Biotechnology Leader GSA Ernst & Young

Patrick AebischerPresident Emeritus EPFL Professor Serial entrepreneur

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Open up your networkTo ensure that the Swiss Biotech Success Stories will be visible around the globe in many locations, media and events, help us with your network and distribution power.

Let us know if you have contacts in your network who could benefit from the insight into Swiss Biotech Success Stories, and are curious to learn more about the stunning accomplishments of entrepreneurs in this competitive industry.

Interested parties could be: Your customers, suppliers, partners, a journalist, an investor, your company’s communication unit, your follower base on social media, your favorite politician, an event platform dedicated to life science, your rotary club colleagues or any other possibility, that could help to promote these success stories.

Share with us your suggestions for spreading the word by e-mail to [email protected] or use the QR code to get to our online form.

SWISS BIOTECH SUCCESS STORIESCelebrating and honoring major achievements

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Awarded companies 2019

X Headquartered in Zug, Biogen has been a key stimulus and model for the biotech industry. Its best-selling drug for multiple sclerosis or its Alzheimer’s candidate, as well as the new production facili-ties in Luterbach, creating 600 new jobs, are proof of Biogen’s success.

X The Schlieren-based company is an integral part of Roche Phar-maceutical Research and Early Development since 2005, and a pioneer in antibody engineering in cancer immunotherapy. Its anti-body glycosylation technology increases immune-mediated cancer cell killing and builds the basis for improved cancer medicines.

X Fully integrated into GlaxoSmithKline since 2013, Okairos from Basel developed innovative T-cell based vaccines for major infec-tious diseases such as malaria, hepatitis C, HIV, and Ebola. Its novel replication-incompetent adenovirus vectors could enable the development of important new vaccines and offer immunizations against illnesses that lack vaccines.

X The advanced technologies in protein expression by Selexis allow biotech and pharmaceutical companies a rapid, stable, and cost-effective solution for the production of recombinant proteins. Almost one hundred drug candidates in clinical development and three commercial products utilize the technologies of the Plan-les-Ouates-based company.

X This transformational joint venture provides Vifor Pharma direct access to dialysis patients, facilitating the product distribution and recruitment for clinical development. It transformed the company from Glattbrugg rapidly into a global nephrology corporation. Such vertical integration is a role model for the convergence of different life science sectors.

Find more information at swissbiotech.org/success-stories

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Success Categories ê Completed achievement with lasting impact

ê Scientific break-through

ê Strong impact on society

ê Product approval and sustainable revenues

ê Important IP, innovative deal-making, acquisition

X Founded in 1997 by a small group of researchers and managers from Basel

X Active drug discovery and development organization

X More than 2,600 employees in over 30 affiliates reaching more than 50 markets (2017)

X Part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies since 2017

X Collaboration agreements with Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Nippon Shinyaku, Bayer AG, Analytics for Life and ThirdPole Therapeutics

The Founding Team

Jean-Paul Clozel, Martine Clozel, Walter Fischli, André J. Mueller, and Thomas Widmann

The Current Team

Includes: Simon Eade, Martin Fitchet, Nicholas Franco, Jane Griffiths, Alessandro Maresta, and Jürgen Scherer

SWISS BIOTECH SUCCESS STORIES

Basel

Awards 2020

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Organized by

ê Involvement of one or more Swiss citizens

ê Swiss-based company/institution

ê Creation of jobs in Switzerland

ê Enabler for the biotech industry

ê Swissness: Think global, made in Switzerland

Knowledge X Leader in the science and medicine of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), with over 20 years of experience in this devastating cardiovascular disorder

X Among the first to work in the field of endothelin receptor antagonists

X Focus also on orphan diseases

Products X Tracleer®: compound acquired as “bosentan” from Roche as late stage drug candidate, developed clinically, approved and commercially avail-able in over 60 markets including the US, EU and Japan

X Opsumit® (macitentan): second generation PAH treatment, resulted from a tailored drug discovery process by Actelion

X Uptravi® (selexipag): PAH compound licensed ex-Japan in Phase 2 from Nippon Shinyaku, developed clinically, approved and commercially avail-able in the US, EU, Japan, and many other markets

X Ventavis® (inhaled iloprost): PAH compound licensed in the US from Bayer AG via the acquisition of CoTherix in 2006

X Zavesca® (miglustat oral): first oral treatment option for type 1 Gaucher Disease, approved in the US and EU

Indications X PAH

X Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hy-pertension (CTEPH) (approved in Brazil)

X Digital Ulcers

X Niemann-Pick Type C

X Gaucher Disease

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X Family-owned biopharmaceutical group of companies

X Founded in 1979 by Rolland-Yves Mauvernay

X Identifies high-potential compounds for in-licensing, conducts clinical development and commercializes its treatments through partners across the globe

X Aims to develop innovative therapies that target high unmet medical needs in oncology

The President

Thierry Mauvernay

Expertise X Clinical development

X Translational medicine

X CMC

X Regulatory affairs

Lausanne

SWISS BIOTECH SUCCESS STORIES Awards 2020

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Organized by





Indications X Colorectal-, pancreatic & gastric cancers

X Advanced prostate cancer

X Endometriosis, paraphilia, central precocious puberty

Pipeline

From preclinical to phase II

Each year

Compounds registered

Patients benefit from our innovations

Products for oncology

Products for infectious diseases

OXALIPLATIN & TRIPTORELIN

1,200,000

2

5

4

DEBIO 1143 HEAD & NECK CANCER PHASE III READY

DEBIO 1143 IMMUNO-ONCOLOGY PHASE I/II

AFABICIN BONE & JOINT INFECTIONS PHASE II

DEBIO 1347 TISSUE AGNOSTIC FGFR FUSIONS PHASE II

DEBIO 1562 DIFFUSE LARGE B-CELL LYMPHOMA PHASE II

DEBIO 1124 MEDULLARY THYROID CANCER PHASE I

debiopharm.com/pipeline

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X Family-run pharmaceutical group founded in 1976 in Ticino with global focus

X Over 700 employees in Switzerland, USA, Ireland, Monaco and China

X Applies innovation to finding solutions to improve the lives of people with cancer, investing approximately 25% of its profits in R&D

X Development of new treatments to fulfill more medical needs, all guided and underpinned by core family values of quality, integrity and respect

X Helsinn is certified as a sustainable company

X Investment Fund to invest in the future of healthcare and advance early-stage opportunities: providing funding and strategic support to innovative companies

The Leadership Team

Riccardo Braglia

Helsinn Group Vice Chairman & CEO

Giorgio Calderari

Helsinn Group General Manager & COO

Lugano


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Organized by




Knowledge X Global presence with deep expertise in R&D with 20 clinical trials (2016-2018)

X World-class API and Drug Product facilities in Switzerland and Ireland

X Growing presence in the US, with an integrated specialty company with direct sales

X Commercial activities started in China in 2019

Marketed Products X In the field of Mycosis fungoides-type T cell lymphoma

X Targeting Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting (CINV)

Pipeline X Focus on cancer therapeutics and cancer supportive care

X Phase III studies for lead therapeutic pipeline assets, targeting acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and cancer cachexia and anorexia

X Broad portfolio of early phase projects

Partnerships X Strong alliances with worldwide partners and service providers who share company mission and vision

X Global network of over 80 commercial partnerships across 190 countries

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Zürich

Zürich

Lausanne

Lausanne

Basel

Zürich


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Organized by




X The leading competition for early stage start-ups in Switzerland since 1997 X Benefits:

X Mentoring by >>venture>>’s extensive industry, investor and start-up network X Visibility to >>venture>>’s high profile industry Advisory Board and media partners X Prize money of CHF 350,000 in cash - no equity taken

X Winners include many of the most successful Swiss biotech start-ups, such as Glycart, Molecular Partners, Covagen, and Sophia Genetics

X A joint initiative of ETH Zurich, McKinsey & Company, X Knecht Holding, Innosuisse, and EPFL, organized in the >>venture>> foundation

www.venture.ch

X More than 50’000 participants since the launch in 2004 as national training program for hightech start-ups (mandate by Innosuisse). Spin-off of IFJ (founded 1989)

X Supports the best Swiss start-up talents in closing financing rounds and accelerating business development. Customized support modules for biotech start-ups

X Exposes the “Swiss National Start-up Teams” Venture Leaders to Venture Capital investors around the globe

X Presents the TOP 100 Swiss Start-ups. Meet the winners at the award ceremony on September 4th in Zurich

X The majority of all Swiss start-ups receiving Venture Capital funding, are Venturelab alumniwww.venturelab.ch

X Launched in 2007 as a philanthropic foundation by private donors

X Supported 624 spin-off companies from Swiss universities with CHF 26 million in start capital. In 2019 another 75 new projects will receive CHF 4.35 million

X The supported start-ups raised more than CHF 2.6 billion and created more than 6.000 jobs. Only in 2018 the portfolio companies raised CHF 687 million and created 1.285 jobs

X 55 Venture Kick Alumni made it into the TOP 100 Swiss Start-ups 2018

X According to Crunchbase Venture Kick is the 14th most active seed-stage investor in 2018, globally

www.venturekick.ch

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ê Scientific break-through

ê New technology


Hypothesis:This idea of restriction enzymes started as a hypothesis by Werner Arber who noticed that certain bacteria fought off bacteriophages (viruses that infect and replicate in bacteria) by chopping up their DNA

Why don’t these enzymes cut up the bacterial cell’s DNA?Arber hypothesized that bacterial cells produce two types of enzymes:

A. one called a “restriction” enzyme that can identify and cut foreign DNA;

B. and a “modification” enzyme that recognizes the host DNA and protects it from cleavage

What’s the value of these restriction enzymes?Today, researchers rely on restriction enzymes to perform virtually any process that involves manipulating, analyzing, and creating new combinations of DNA sequences:

Without the discovery of restriction enzymes, the fields of recombinant DNA tech-nology, biotechnology, and genomics as we know them today would not exist.

Bacteriophage

Bacterial DNA Bacterium

Bacteriophage DNA

DNA cloning

Genomics

Hereditary disease diagnosis

Gene editing Gene replacement therapy

Production of proteins for treatement of disease

Werner ArberImagining and Discovering the Tools of Genome Editing


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Organized by


ê Swiss-based company / institution


Bacterial restriction and modification:

A. Detecting invading foreign DNA, which leads to its degradation (modulator of the frequency of genetic variation)

B. Protection of cellular DNA by site-specific methylation: many hundreds of specificities of DNA tagging inherent (restriction enzymes commercially available from New England Biolab)

C. Restriction enzymes serve to break down the genome into many shorter fragments, which facilitates gene analysis

Trinational Biotechnology Program of the Universities of Strasbourg, Ba-sel, Freiburg i.Brsg. and Karlsruhe:

A. Based in Strasbourg: ESBS (Ecole Supérieure de Biotechnology de Strasbourg)

B. Program proposed by W. Arber in his rectorate period in December 1985 and kicked off at the beginning of the 1990s:

• University of Basel: focus on microbiology

• Freiburg i. Brsg: focus on physiology and molecular biology of plants

• Karlsruhe: focus on process engineering, stopped few years ago and moved to Strasbourg

Research in areas of the mechanisms of biological evolution – Three Strategies of the Natural Process of Genetic Variation assumed:

A. Local mutation

B. Intragenomic translocation of a shorter genome segment

C. Horizontal gene transfer (gave rise to experimental gene transplantation, which facilitates: “Functional testing, DNA sequence analysis”)

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Partner networkNational and international partnerships of the Swiss Biotech Association help us leverage our impact. They strengthen our voice and enable us to provide Swiss biotech stakehold-ers with privileged information and networking opportunities.

Optimizing framework conditions for Swiss biotech companies

X economiesuisse X EuropaBio X International Council of Biotech Associations X Interpharma X scienceindustries X Swiss Coordination Committee for Biotechnology

Fostering international collaborations & trade

X BIO Deutschland X Biotechnology Innovation Association (US) X Italian Trade Agency X Japan Bioindustry Association X Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency X SwedenBIO X Swiss Business Hubs X swissnex

Promoting Switzerland’s competitive advantages

X Agire X BaselArea.swiss X BioAlps X Canton of Vaud Chamber of Commerce and Industry

X Farma Industria Ticino X Greater Zurich Area X Switzerland Global Enterprise

Connections to investors & non-dilutive funding opportunities

X Euresearch X Healthcare Impact Foundation X Innosuisse X Sachs Associates X SECA X SIX X Venture Kick

Links to specialized stakeholder groups X biotechnet Switzerland (academia) X SimplyScience (young talent) X Swiss HLG (business development)

Swiss Biotech Association Academy X BaselArea.swiss X CTC Resourcing Solutions X DIA X Euresearch X Henri B. Meier Unter nehmensschule - Unversität St. Gallen

X HGF X Loroch X Simon Kucher & Partners X Swiss HLG X Venturelab

Preferential business solutions X BioCentury (info, analysis and data for biotechs)

X Helvetia (business insurance) X Swiss Life (pension fund) X More than 100 co-promotion partners organizing events and conventions around the globe

Swiss Biotech Success Stories X Mirabaud (gold sponsor) X EY (silver sponsor) X Switzerland Global Enterprise (silver sponsor) X Gebert Rüf Stiftung, Innotio, Basel-Stadt (supporters)

Swiss Biotech Report X biotechnet X Ernst & Young Ltd. X Innosuisse X scienceindustries X SIX Swiss Exchange AG X Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property

X Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) X Switzerland Global Enterprise

40% more Swiss Biotech Day participants

+1,000 newsletter subscribers47 new

members

~ 92,000 web visitors from 174 countries

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Development in numbers

The Swiss Biotech Association gained 47 new members in 2019. The news and events on swissbiotech.org and within the digital community provide an up-to-date and comprehensive picture of what is happening in the Swiss biotech industry. Again, the number of event partici-pants, newsletter subscribers and website visitors grew.

~60,000 newsletter emails

40 Swiss Biotech Academy courses

~ 125 national & international industry events announced,many with member discounts

16 newsletters sent to > 3,500 people

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In the mediaIn 2019, media work focused on covering our activities, mainly the Swiss Biotech Success Stories, and key industry facts supported by the Swiss Biotech Report.

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European Biotechnology | Autumn Edition | Vol. 18 | 2019

AssociAtions

Pict

ure:

Swiss

Bio

tech

Ass

ocia

tion

Supporting

Swiss bio techs

InnovatIon The World Intellectual Property Organization’s 2019

Global Innovation Index ranked Switzerland again as the most inno-

vative country. Innovation in biotech plays an important role, and the

Swiss Biotech Association is committed to further support the biotech

industry in Switzerland.

switzerland enjoys a great ecosystem

populated with leading academic institu-

tions, hospitals, and a growing talent pool

of experienced pharma and biotech sci-

entists and executives. this nurtures and

supports many successful startups and es-

tablished biotech companies. concentrat-

ing on topics that have the greatest impact

on the competitiveness and value creation

of the swiss biotech ecosystem, the swiss

Biotech Association is dedicated to fulfill-

ing its mission effectively through:

favourable framework conditions

››attracting talent and financial resources

››fostering networking by partnerships

››promotion and raising awareness.

››

securing competitive framework con-

ditions remains a critical success fac-

tor, as more and more countries invest

in strengthening their biotech indus-

tries. the swiss Biotech Association con-

tinues to work on improving the frame-

work conditions and has established a

tight network of partners in switzerland

and abroad who are aligned around this

shared objective.

the swiss Biotech Association’s second

mission pillar focuses on facilitating ac-

cess to talent, technology transfer, and

financial resources. Be it by expanding

the professional education and training,

by further growing its partnerships to of-

fer business solutions that reduce opera-

tional costs, or by connecting its mem-

bers to investors and non-dilutive funding

opportunities or organizations fostering

international collaborations and trade.

By providing networking opportuni-

ties in switzerland and abroad, the in-

dustry association supports the swiss

biotech stakeholders in being well-in-

formed and well-connected. the annual

Logo des Verbands

Upcoming EVEnts

›››11–13 November 2019, Hamburg

swiss pavilion at the Bio Europe

›››21 April 2020, Basel

swiss Biotech Day and swiss

Biotech success stories Awards

@

“WHITE BIOTECHNOLOGY”

WORKING GROUP

Leading chemical companies are exploring the op-

portunities that have been opened up by modern bio-

technology, especially in the field of “white” or indus-

trial biotechnology. And they are also applying these

technologies, wherever it makes sense. The SBA takes

such initiatives seriously and has formed a working

group specifically dedicated to white biotechnology.

The Swiss Industrial Biocatalysis Consortium is an

important partner in this effort. The group includes

leading multinational companies that support white

biotechnology as a pillar of economic growth. The

planned activities are in agreement with OECD

strategies.

In partnership with the Swiss Biotechnet (see pages

14/15) the SBA develops training programmes and use-

ful support tools for the industry. It is of importance

that the industry specifies its training needs so that

the academic side can create tailor-made education.

This strategy ensures that the industry gets the right

workforce with the right education. The SBA profits

from the marketing alliance “Swiss Biotech” (see box)

in a multiplied form. Thanks to Swiss Biotech, the

sector is internationally visible. The project-specific

participating companies (most of them young and in-

ternationally less savvy) find a comprehensive partner

which is helping to put them in the public window.

The participating Life Science Regions are important

internal carriers of the dynamics in the Biotech sec-

tor, thus enhancing the common understanding of the

industry. This and more knowledge is brought into

Europa Bio, the European Biotech Association, where

the SBA is an active member.

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SWISS BIOTECH...

...is an alliance of four leading Biotech regions of

Switzerland (Bio Alps, BioPolo Ticino, Basel Area

and Greater Zurich Area). They have combined ef-

forts to streamline interests of the national biotech

sector. The SWX Swiss Exchange holds a leading

position in terms of lifescience listings and offers

companies from that industry – be they located in

Switzerland or abroad – access to an international-

ly recognised financial marketplace. The initiative

was co-founded by the SBA which also manages

the executive office of Swiss Biotech.

Domenico Alexakis

is Executive Director

of the Swiss Biotech

Association.

...ONE BIOTECH CLUSTER

For further information please visit

www.swissbiotechassociation.ch

www.swissbiotech.org

swiss Biotech Day is established as the

most relevant conference for the biotech

industry in switzerland and attracts many

foreign participants.

there are many different aspects to

promoting the accomplishments of the

Swiss biotech industry. the new swiss

Biotech website (swissbiotech.org), com-

bined with the most comprehensive swiss

Biotech Directory, now enables the stake-

holders to capture new business, attract

talent, and increase their visibility. the

swiss Biotech success stories Awards ini-

tiative annually nominates and presents a

selection of outstanding achievements to

promote the industry broadly, to commu-

nicate these successes to a wider public,

and to motivate young scientists, as well

as entrepreneurs, to advance their career

in biotech, which will help to constantly

enlarge the talent pool required to build

many more successful companies. L

Swiss pavilionFor the first time and in collaboration

with switzerland global Enterprise, the

swiss Biotech Association will establish

a swiss pavilion at the Bio Europe. From

11 to 13 november, up to 15 swiss bio-

tech companies will present themselves

and their products and innovations at Eu-

rope’s most relevant biotech convention

in Hamburg with very favourable condi-

tions, including discounted access fees,

increased visibility, and additional net-

working opportunities.L

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European Biotechnology | Summer Edition | Vol. 18 | 2019

aSSociationS

Pict

ure:

Swiss

Bio

tech

Ass

ocia

tion

Record investments

in Swiss biotech

SwiSS Biotech Day More than 850 life science industry representa-

tives across Europe visited the Swiss Biotech Day in Basel. The indus-

try continues to be buoyant, and again, outstanding achievers received

the Swiss Biotech Success Stories Awards, demonstrating the diversity

of this important economic sector.

at the annual get-together of the indus-

try, keynotes, panel discussions, presen-

tations of emerging and advanced com-

panies, an award celebration, and an

exhibition with partnering and network-

ing awaited the participants. the pub-

lished Swiss Biotech Report (available

digitally at swissbiotechreport.ch) reflects

that the Swiss biotech industry can once

again look back on a record year. indus-

try sales increased by 6%, compared to

2017, reaching cHF4bn. the number of

people employed within the 249 bio-

tech companies and 63 suppliers rose

by around 4% to over 14,300. capital in-

vestment in listed biotech companies has

been booming.

The foundation of success:

Investment in research

the industry has been laying the founda-

tions for this impressive, sustained growth

spanning a number of years with invest-

ment in R&D, which has been increas-

ing for years and which rose by a further

32% from 2017 to 2018. Swiss biotech

companies also invested the lion’s share

of resources generated by profits and fi-

nancing transactions in research and de-

velopment in 2018. the results include a

valuable patent portfolio (53% of Swiss

biotech patents are “world-class pat-

ents,” i.e., they are the 10% of the high-

est-rated patents worldwide) and a pipe-

line filled with promising drug candidates

in the preclinical and clinical research

phase. the Swiss biotech industry is pre-

dominantly comprised of small to medi-

um-sized enterprises and is bolstered by

capital investment, major interest from

global companies in collaborations, and

success in national and international

project support programs.

the Swiss biotech industry is opti-

mally placed to meet global challeng-

es. an outstanding example of the indus-

try’s promising future is the flotation of

Polyphor in spring 2018. With cHF155m

raised, this was the largest biotech iPo

in Switzerland in over 10 years, and one

of the three largest in Europe in the last

three years.

the secret to the Swiss biotech indus-

try’s success lies not in individual lead-

ing-edge companies, but in its diversity.

Each year, the Swiss Biotech association

Martine and Jean-Claude Clozel discuss their success with Actelion. This year, the

Swiss Biotech Association again nominated five laureates for the Swiss Biotech Success

Stories Awards in recognition of outstanding achievements: Nobel Prize winner Prof.

Dr Werner Arber, Actelion, Debiopharm, Helsinn, and biotech startup supporters

Venture, Venturelab, and Venture Kick.

Logo des Verbands

UPcoming EVEntS

› 19 September 2019 Lausanne

Swiss Biotech insights

› 21 April 2020 Basel

Swiss Biotech Day and Swiss

Biotech Success Stories awards

@


WORKING GROUP













strategies.




















22

SWISS BIOTECH...












Domenico Alexakis



Association.





presents companies with the “Swiss Bio-

tech Success Stories awards” in recogni-

tion of outstanding achievements: Prof.

Dr Werner arber, nobel Prize winner in

Physiology or medicine, was instrumen-

tal in the development of biotechnology

in many ways over several decades, e.g.

with his groundbreaking research in the

field of molecular genetics.

Venture Foundation, Venturelab, and

Venture Kick have been supporting bio-

tech startups with great success for more

than 10 years, thereby making a signifi-

cant contribution to the growth of the in-

dustry. three outstanding and commer-

cially successful biotech companies also

made it onto the independent jury’s list:

actelion, Debiopharm, and Helsinn. L

93

associations

European Biotechnology | spring Edition | Vol. 18 | 2019

Upcoming EVEnts

› 7 May 2019, Basel

swiss Biotech Day &

swiss Biotech success

stories celebration

swissbiotechday.ch

the swiss Biotech Directory’s eighth print-

ed edition is in the making. it is the most

comprehensive compendium of the swiss

biotech industry and provides a handy

overview of companies active in biotech-

nology and related fields in about 120 pag-

es. the swiss Biotech Directory supports

the promotion and networking of the in-

dustry and is distributed to all relevant in-

dustry stakeholders and their partners.

swiss biotech companies value their inclu-

sion in the directory as part of their market-

ing efforts, especially as it is free of charge.

Furthermore, members of the swiss Bio-

tech association are entitled to present

more information than non-members.

now, the new and contemporary swiss

Biotech Directory directory.swissbiotech.

org supports users in finding the right bi-

otech partner out of more than 900 com-

panies with a click (or a tap on mobile

devices). the company entries get top

positions in google searches and, thus,

provide new business opportunities for

The Swiss Biotech

Directory goes digital

SwiSS Biotech Directory The Swiss Biotech Association will publish

its popular and most comprehensive compendium of the Swiss biotech

industry soon. Visit the new digital directory.swissbiotech.org for a cur-

rent overview of more than 900 companies and find companies by key

business and core competencies.

@


WORKING GROUP













strategies.




















22

SWISS BIOTECH...












Domenico Alexakis



Association.





Find the right partner fast with the most comprehensive digital Swiss Biotech

Directory at directory.swissbiotech.org

SucceSS StorieS the swiss Biotech

success stories demonstrate the power

and potential of swiss biotech. this rec-

ognition is awarded annually at the swiss

Biotech Day and reflects the diversity

and variety of the industry sector.

switzerland is one of the world’s lead-

ing biotech hubs and attracts many for-

eign companies, specialists, and inves-

tors. it provides over 50,000 jobs and,

together with the pharmaceutical and

chemical industries, contributes to more

than 40 percent of the swiss exports.

Biotech power highlighted

all listed companies, as they increase

their online presence (e.g. in searches by

key business or core competencies). L

to increase industry visibility, the swiss

Biotech success stories initiative was

launched last year. selected success

stories are showcased to illustrate how

swiss biotech companies contribute to

helping patients and improving health

care worldwide – thus, also makeing a

valuable and significant contribution to

the swiss economy.

Laureates are individuals – or groups

– who earned extraordinary merits. suc-

cess is broadly defined as scientific,

translational, medical, or commercial ac-

complishments, as well as other aspects

with a positive impact on the biotech in-

dustry and society in switzerland.

“it is essential to show the public the

importance and success factors of bio-

tech and ensure that decision-makers un-

derstand what it takes for the industry to

develop and remain competitive. at the

same time, young talents should be in-

spired and motivated to take a closer look

at the career profiles in biotech,” empha-

sises michael altorfer, cEo of the swiss

Biotech association.L

25

Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft

Confédération suisse

Confederazione Svizzera

Confederaziun svizraSwiss Confederation

Innosuisse – Swiss Innovation Agency

ImpressumSteering committee

Michael Altorfer, Swiss Biotech Association, Zürich

Christian Fehr, SIX Swiss Exchange AG, Zürich

Florian Fisch, Swiss National Science Foundation, Bern

Kathrin Hausammann, Innosuisse, Bern

Jan Lucht, scienceindustries, Zürich

Christian Moser, Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, Bern

Laura Suter, biotechnet, Muttenz

Sirpa Tsimal, Switzerland Global Enterprise, Zürich

Jürg Zürcher, Ernst & Young AG, Basel

Concept, layout and design

sherif ademi | kommunikationsdesign, Schlieren

EditingJPD Buckley, London

Scan the QR code to download

the Swiss Biotech Report 2019.

Swiss Biotech Report2019The central resource for the Swiss biotech industry

Annual Report2018

Services and publicationsOne of the Swiss Biotech Association’s goals is to enhance the image of the biotech-nology industry in Switzerland and abroad, and position it as an important value-adding economic pillar. Besides the Swiss Biotech Success Stories initiative (see p. 8-21) launched in 2018, our publications and digital services support the association’s drive to maintain its position as the central resource for the Swiss biotech industry.

Swiss

Biotech

Directory

20191 Nation 1 Biotech Cluster

Nom

inal

cha

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excl

. pos

tage

CH

F 45

.–

swissb

iotech.o

rg

From professionals for professionals

Aimed at all professionals who have a strong interest in biotechnology and life

sciences,

the Swiss Biotech Association Academy presents a perfect mix of education on a profes-

sional level, where you can exchange your th

oughts with other experts in your field and

expand your network. The courses are organized throughout the year by the Swiss Biotech

Association and our Academy partners.

Given the constant need to be up-to-date with

current developments in drug discovery and

development, clinical research, legislation and

other areas of the drug development, we are

happy to offer a selection of courses and

workshops to our members.

Our Academy partners

Become a member now and check out

our Swiss Biotech Academy courses at


26

3M

Abologix

AC Bioscience

AC Immune

Activen

ADC Therapeutics

Addex Therapeutics

Adolf Kühner

Agidens

Alibion

Alphastrat

AlveoliX

Amal Therapeutics

Amyra Biotech

Anaveon

Anergis

Anjarium Biosciences

anteris Helvetia

Araris Biotech

Artidis

Asceneuron

Assystem Care

Aurealis Pharma

Auregen Biotherapeutics

Axon Lab

Baccinex

Bachem

BakerHicks

Baliopharm

Basilea Pharmaceutica

BC Platforms

Becton Dickinson

Bench

Bideco

Bio Innovations

Bio-Rad

Bio-Technopark Schlieren-Zürich

BioConcept

Bioengineering

Biogen

BioLingus

Biolytix

Biomapas

BioMedPartners

Biopôle

Biosynth

BioVersys

blsc

Bromatech

Bucher Biotec

Büchi

BÜHLMANN

C-CIT Sensors

Cabinet Privé de Conseils

Calypso Biotech

Cancer Research and Biotechnology

Canlion

Carbogen Amcis

CarthaGenetics

Catalyze

CDR-Life

CEBIS International

Celerion

Cell Medica

Cellestia Biotech

Cerbios-Pharma

Cerdia

certus molecular diagnostics

Chemgineering Technology

Cilatus Biopharma Consulting

CimArk

CIS Pharma

Clinipace

Consultants in Science

Coulter & Partners

Covance Central Laboratory Services

CRB

Creoptix

CSEM

CSL Behring

CTC Resourching Solutions

Culture Collection of Switzerland

Curatis

Debiopharm International

DXC RT

EffRx Pharmaceuticals

Elanix Biotechnologies

Elthera

EraCal Therapeutics

Eurofins Medical Device Testing

EVA

Evitria

ExcellGene

ExpertInova

Fluidic Analytics

Fondation Eclosion

Francois C. Martin

Future Health Pharma

G&L Scientific

Gain Therapeutics

Galser

GBiotech

GE Healthcare

Genedata

GeNeuro

Geneva Biotech Center

Genexa

Genkyotex

GMT Fine Chemicals

HBM Partners

Helsinn

Hemex

Heptares Therapeutics

HGF

Homburger

Humabs BioMed

IBR

Ichnos Sciences

ICON Clinical Research

Idorsia Pharmaceuticals

IE Life Science Engineering

Incyte Biosciences International

Inflamalps

Infors

InnoMedica

Inofea

Member

List of members, December 2019

47 members that have joined the association in 2019 are shown in red

27

Inositec

InsideReg

InSphero

Integra Biosciences

InterAx Biotech

Inthera Bioscience

IOnctura

Janssen-Cilag

Jenal & Partners Biosafety Consulting

Jung & Partners

KPMG

Labatec Pharma

Laves-Arzneimittel

LeadXpro

LimmaTech Biologics

Linkster Therapeutics

Lonza

Loroch

LubioScience

Lunaphore Technologies

LYO-X

Malcisbo

Marsa Corporate Finance

Maxia Strategies

MaxWell Biosystems

MD Biosciences

Med Discovery

MEDExpansion

Medical Trials Analysis Swiss

Memo Therapeutics

Merck & Cie

Merz/Anteis

MetrioPharm

Micro-Sphere

Microsynth

Molecular Partners

Mymetics

NBE-Therapeutics

NDA

Nemis Technologies

Neurimmune

Novaremed

Novartis Pharma

NovImmune

Numab

ObsEva

Oculis

Oculox Technologies

OLS

Omya

Onelife

Orion Biotechnology

P & G MedChem

Pall

PAREXEL

Perseo pharma

Phargentis

PharmaBiome

Philip Morris International

Philochem

Phoenixus

PIQUR

PolyGene

Polyneuron

Polyphor

Preclin Biosystems

PreComb Therapeutics

Promega

ProteoMediX

PSI CRO

Pureos Bioventures

QBDC

Quartz Bio

Quotient Suisse

Recordati

Redbiotec

Regen Lab

regulanet

Remap Consulting

ReseaChem

Roche Glycart

RodanoTech

SAKK

Santhera

Sartorius

Schmidt Versicherungs Treuhand

Scailyte

Seagen International

Securecell

Selexis

Servier

Sferalp

SFL Pharma

SGS M-Scan

Shimadzu

Simon-Kucher & Partners

Socorex

SOPHiA GENETICS

SpacePharma

Stobbe Pharma

Strekin

SunRegen Healthcare

Swati

Swiss Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Swissfillon

SwisSolution Human Capital

Switzerland Global Enterprise

SynDermix

Syngenta

Synlab

Synple Chem

T3 Pharma

Talentmark

Talisto

Target BioScience

tepthera

the RSA Group

Therachon

Thermo Fisher Life Technologies

Tigermed

Tillotts Pharma

tiventa

TJM Conseils

Tolerys

TOLREMO therapeutics

Toolpoint for Lab Science

Topadur

Triplan Ingenieur

UCB

Unitectra

ValuationLab

Vaxxilon

Venture Valuation

Versameb

Versantis

Vifor Pharma

Virometix

Voisin Consulting Life Sciences

Wellmera

Werthenstein BioPharma

Wyss Zurich

28

Income statement

2019 2018

In CHF Expenses Income Expenses Income

Membership fees 597'500 415'186

NTN income 0 251'625

International projects 2'786 12'807

National projects 468'122 229'342

Swiss Biotech Success Stories 30'000 64'855

Swiss Biotech Report 48'000 42'000

Swiss Biotech Directory 28'295 43

Website & community platform 186 3'250

Increase/decrease bad debt provision -10'500 -3'000

Total income 1'164'388 1'016'108

Fees to other associations 27'745 127'841

International projects 28'290 49'208

National projects 471'169 274'679

SBA 20th anniversary 0 32'101

Increase/decrease tied capital "SBA 20th anniversary" 0 -30'000

Swiss Biotech Success Stories 36'018 83'268

Increase/decrease tied capital "Swiss Biotech Success Stories" 0 -20'000

Swiss Biotech Sounding Board 4'063 28'303

Increase/decrease tied capital "Swiss Biotech Sounding Board" 0 -20'000

Swiss Biotech Report 61'862 45'699

Swiss Biotech Directory 54'163 25'176

Website & community platform 38'802 36'867

Association activities expense 722'111 633'142

Management fees 1 251'323 239'528

Accounting & member support 79'468 28'707

Office rent & administration 45'693 55'653

Consulting 26'636 11'352

Public relations 54'624 39'122

Other operating expenses 457'745 374'362

Financial income result -578 -1'214

Income from previous reporting periods 9’500 0

Tax expenses 500 2’000

Net result of the year -7'045 5’390

¹ Management fees related to events and promotional products are directly booked to the respective project

29

Balance sheetBalance Sheet 31.12.2019 Balance Sheet 31.12.2018

In CHF Assets Liabilities Assets Liabilities

Assets

Cash and cash equivalents 260'633 248’083

Accounts receivable 62'790 101’100

Accrued income & prepaid expenses 0 2'090

Total assets 323'423 351'273

Liabilities

Accounts payable 63'548 75'553

Accrued expenses & deferred income 38'211 47'011

Association equity 131'239 131'239

Tied capital for SBA Success Stories 30'000 30'000

Tied capital for SBA Sounding Board 30'000 30'000

Retained earnings 37'472 32’082

Net result of the year -7'045 5’390

Total liabilities 323'423 351'273

Phone +41 44 444 35 55

Fax +41 44 444 35 35 www.bdo.ch

BDO Ltd Schiffbaustrasse 2 8031 Zurich

BDO Ltd, a limited company under Swiss law, incorporated in Zurich, forms part of the international BDO Network of independent member firms.

Report of the statutory auditor on the limited statutory examination to the general meeting of

Swiss Biotech Association (SBA), Zurich

As statutory auditor, we have examined the financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and notes) of Swiss Biotech Association (SBA) for the financial year ended 31 December 2019.

These financial statements are the responsibility of the association board. Our responsibility is to perform a limited statutory examination on these financial statements. We confirm that we meet the licensing and independence requirements as stipulated by Swiss law.

We conducted our examination in accordance with the Swiss Standard on the Limited Statutory Ex-amination. This standard requires that we plan and perform a limited statutory examination to iden-tify material misstatements in the financial statements. A limited statutory examination consists primarily of inquiries of company personnel and analytical procedures as well as detailed tests of company documents as considered necessary in the circumstances. However, the testing of opera-tional processes and the internal control system, as well as inquiries and further testing procedures to detect fraud or other legal violations, are not within the scope of this examination.

Based on our limited statutory examination, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to be-lieve that the financial statements do not comply with Swiss law and the articles of association.

Zurich, 13 March 2020

BDO Ltd

Marc Escher

Licensed Audit Expert

i.V. Niklaus Stamm

Auditor in Charge Licensed Auditor

Enclosure Financial statements

Phone +41 44 444 35 55

Fax +41 44 444 35 35 www.bdo.ch

BDO Ltd Schiffbaustrasse 2 8031 Zurich

BDO Ltd, a limited company under Swiss law, incorporated in Zurich, forms part of the international BDO Network of independent member firms.

Report of the statutory auditor on the limited statutory examination to the general meeting of

Swiss Biotech Association (SBA), Zurich

As statutory auditor, we have examined the financial statements (balance sheet, income statement and notes) of Swiss Biotech Association (SBA) for the financial year ended 31 December 2019.

These financial statements are the responsibility of the association board. Our responsibility is to perform a limited statutory examination on these financial statements. We confirm that we meet the licensing and independence requirements as stipulated by Swiss law.

We conducted our examination in accordance with the Swiss Standard on the Limited Statutory Ex-amination. This standard requires that we plan and perform a limited statutory examination to iden-tify material misstatements in the financial statements. A limited statutory examination consists primarily of inquiries of company personnel and analytical procedures as well as detailed tests of company documents as considered necessary in the circumstances. However, the testing of opera-tional processes and the internal control system, as well as inquiries and further testing procedures to detect fraud or other legal violations, are not within the scope of this examination.

Based on our limited statutory examination, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to be-lieve that the financial statements do not comply with Swiss law and the articles of association.

Zurich, 13 March 2020

BDO Ltd

Marc Escher

Licensed Audit Expert

i.V. Niklaus Stamm

Auditor in Charge Licensed Auditor

Enclosure Financial statements

30

Patrick Amstutz Vice PresidentCEO Molecular Partners

Luca BolligerVice President

Swiss Biotech Association board and management

Dominik EscherPresidentExecutive Chairman CDR-Life

The board

The management team

Michael AltorferCEO

Bettina ErnstVice PresidentCEO Preclin Biosystems

Sabine BamertCommunications

Ulf GrawunderVice PresidentCEO NBE-Therapeutics

Gabriela LuternauerAdministration and member support

Heike BihlmannLiaison Basel area, special projects

Martin HowaldVice President Honorary MemberCEO BioConcept

Jurgi CamblongVice PresidentCEO SOPHiA GENETICS

Marta GehringLiaison Swiss Romandie and Ticino, special projects

Filippo RivaVice PresidentCEO Humabs Biomed

31

The Swiss Biotech AssociationFounded in 1998, the Swiss Biotech Asso-ciation represents the interests of the Swiss biotech industry. To support its members in a competitive market, the Swiss Biotech Asso-ciation works to secure favorable framework conditions and facilitate access to talents,

novel technologies and financial resources. To strengthen and promote the Swiss bio-tech industry, the Swiss Biotech Association collaborates with numerous partners and life science clusters globally under the brand Swiss Biotech™.

Our MissionThe Swiss Biotech Association is a non-profit, member-driven organization representing the interests of the Swiss biotech industry. Swiss biotech companies are leading the way in developing and commercializing innovative medicines, diagnostics, healthcare treatments, services and enabling technologies.

Our core objective is to ensure that the value generated by the Swiss biotech industry con-tinues to grow and that the industry contrib-utes to the well-being of the socio-economic ecosystem thereby enabling Switzerland to be a key player at the forefront of bioscience innovation.

To this end, the Swiss Biotech Association is dedicated to supporting Swiss biotech companies through the following:

Developing favorable and competitive framework conditions

X Creating awareness of the biotech industry’s needs and interests with policy makers

X Advocating a competitive tax system alongside lean and pragmatic regulations

X Fostering life science education, technology transfer and intellectual property

Attracting talent, know-how and financial resources to drive innovation and growth

X Promoting and facilitating access to funding opportunities

X Connecting investors and attractive biotech investment opportunities

X Facilitating access to national and interna-tional talent

Fostering networking through strategic, national and international partnerships

X Connecting industry stakeholders and life science clusters

X Organizing and co-promoting national and international life science events

X Providing access to privileged information through industry platforms and working groups

Promoting the accomplishments of the Swiss biotech industry

X Disseminating the value-creation of Swiss biotech companies

X Visualizing the diversity and competitive-ness of Swiss biotech companies

X Presenting innovative products and tech-nologies and their contribution to quality of life

32

Outlook 2020The 2020 objectives of the Swiss Biotech Association either link to one of the four mis-sion pillars (see page 31) or aim at enhancing the financial flexibility and effectiveness of the association.

Effective and transparent operationsThe Swiss Biotech Association is dedicated to fulfilling its mission effectively and focus-ing resources on those areas that have the biggest impact on competitiveness and value creation for the Swiss biotech ecosys-tem. These internal projects aim to enhance operational effectiveness, support active dia-logue with industry stakeholders, and further professionalize member support:

À Swiss Biotech Association website swissbiotech.org reworked for publication of company listings, news, events and open jobs

À Swiss Biotech Directory enhanced to en-able stakeholders to present themselves effectively and communicate confidential information in a ‘private’ section of the directory platform

À New community platform to support working groups and facilitate the exchange of privileged information in a proprietary Swiss biotech community setting

Favorable framework conditionsSecuring competitive framework conditions remains a critical success factor as more countries invest in their biotech industries. While the current situation in Switzerland is very advantageous, it requires continu-ous effort to monitor political and regulatory developments that might negatively impact our competitiveness. The Swiss Biotech Association has established a tight network of partners in Switzerland and abroad who are aligned around this shared objective (see partner organizations on page 22). In 2020, we are focusing on these distinct projects:

À Proposals to improve the framework conditions for clinical R&D in Switzerland in collaboration with the Swiss Clinical Trial Organization (SCTO)

À Emphasizing the need for high quality animal testing facilities for biotech compa-nies in Switzerland, highlighting the risks associated with outsourcing such testing to other countries

À Securing continuous access to the Euro-pean research collaboration programs, beyond the Horizon 2020 framework

À Promoting the advantages of the Swiss tax reform (tax deductions for R&D invest-ments and patent box revenues) which comes into effect in 2020

33

Attracting talent and financial resourcesThe potential inherent in the biotech industry and innovative technologies, and the oppor-tunities provided by artificial intelligence are enormous. But they can only be realized if Switzerland continues to attract international talent and investors, while securing access to emerging intellectual property and technolo-gies. That is why our second mission pillar focuses on access to IP and know-how, experienced management teams, and suf-ficient financial resources. In 2020, the Swiss Biotech Association aims to support this by:

À Expanding professional education and training through the Swiss Biotech As-sociation Academy platform

À Growing our network of partnerships focusing on attracting international talent

À Promoting the idea of ‘Entrepreneur Visas’ for foreign nationals who want to set up and establish a biotech company in Switzerland

À Adding partnerships which offer business solutions that reduce operating costs for members

À Building a non-public community platform to facilitate information exchange between biotech companies, investors, technology transfer offices and also pharma partners

National and international partnerships for networkingThe Swiss Biotech Association ensures stakeholders stay well informed and connected with networking opportunities in Switzerland and abroad. The annual Swiss Biotech Day attracts many foreign participants and is now established as the most relevant conference for the biotech industry in Switzerland. Co-promotion agreements with life science con-ferences around the globe provide members with attractive discounts and presentation opportunities.

In 2020 we plan to:

À Strengthen the Swiss Biotech Day with additional networking opportunities for biotech CEOs, investors and multi-national pharma companies

À Initiate a Swiss R&D biotech CEO meeting platform

À Collaborate with the Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association and Sachs Associates to exploit synergies with biotech investor meetings

À Collaborate with the Swiss Academy of Technical Sciences (SATW) in promoting the potential of industrial biotech

34

Promotion and raising awarenessOur starting point is to simply and effectively present the strength and diversity of the more than 1,000 companies that make up the Swiss biotech sector. The Swiss Biotech Directory shows that Switzerland has estab-lished a very densely populated and highly diversified biotech hub covering all aspects of biotechnology and with a strong international profile. We need key decision-makers and the wider public to understand and support biotech companies in the drive to develop new medicines or diagnostics. To support this in 2020, we will focus on:

À Publish the digital and print edition of the Swiss Biotech Directory

À Capture the Swiss biotech product pipe-line and make it accessible through the Swiss biotech community platform

À Hand over the Swiss Biotech Success Story Award to the 2020 laureates and nominate the 2021 laureates

À Design the Swiss biotech industry website to enable an attractive representation of the industry landscape

À Expand the partner network to support industry promotion and raise awareness of the Swiss biotech accomplishments and needs

Aligning our objectives to our mission state-ment ensures a clear focus on what really matters. However, the priorities may vary and depend on the role and point of view of each stakeholder. We see the strong growth of our member base as a confirmation that we are on the right track. At the same time, we encourage you to engage in an active dialogue with us to shape together the future of our industry and its framework – to keep Swiss Biotech successful and competitive internationally.

Yours faithfully,

Michael Altorfer CEO

SwiSS Biotech Day

© S

ahac

hatz

/shu

tter

sto

ck.c

om

april 20, 2021 congress center Basel

Organized by:

@

“WHITE BIOTECHNOLOGY” WORKING GROUP

Leading chemical companies are exploring the op-portunities that have been opened up by modern bio-technology, especially in the field of “white” or indus-trial biotechnology. And they are also applying thesetechnologies, wherever it makes sense. The SBA takessuch initiatives seriously and has formed a workinggroup specifically dedicated to white biotechnology.The Swiss Industrial Biocatalysis Consortium is animportant partner in this effort. The group includesleading multinational companies that support whitebiotechnology as a pillar of economic growth. Theplanned activities are in agreement with OECD strategies.In partnership with the Swiss Biotechnet (see pages14/15) the SBA develops training programmes and use-ful support tools for the industry. It is of importancethat the industry specifies its training needs so thatthe academic side can create tailor-made education.This strategy ensures that the industry gets the rightworkforce with the right education. The SBA profitsfrom the marketing alliance “Swiss Biotech” (see box)in a multiplied form. Thanks to Swiss Biotech, the

sector is internationally visible. The project-specificparticipating companies (most of them young and in-ternationally less savvy) find a comprehensive partnerwhich is helping to put them in the public window.The participating Life Science Regions are importantinternal carriers of the dynamics in the Biotech sec-tor, thus enhancing the common understanding of theindustry. This and more knowledge is brought intoEuropa Bio, the European Biotech Association, wherethe SBA is an active member.

22

SWISS BIOTECH...

...is an alliance of four leading Biotech regions ofSwitzerland (Bio Alps, BioPolo Ticino, Basel Areaand Greater Zurich Area). They have combined ef-forts to streamline interests of the national biotechsector. The SWX Swiss Exchange holds a leadingposition in terms of lifescience listings and offerscompanies from that industry – be they located inSwitzerland or abroad – access to an international-ly recognised financial marketplace. The initiativewas co-founded by the SBA which also managesthe executive office of Swiss Biotech.

Domenico Alexakis is Executive Director of the Swiss Biotech Association.


For further information please visit www.swissbiotechassociation.ch


Join the Swiss Biotech Day and take the chance to meet senior experts from the life science industry and acade-mia from across Europe.

What you can expect:› 700+ attendees from 25+ countries› 50+ exhibitors› Presentation of the Swiss Biotech Report› Swiss Biotech Success Stories Awards› Parallel tracks focussed on innovative biotech start-ups

and medium-sized biotech companies › Thematically focused panel discussions› Pre-scheduled one-to-one partnering meetings › High-traffic exhibition with ongoing catering

Find out more at swissbiotechday.ch

SBD2020_2021_A5.indd 1 09.07.2020 9:17:02 Uhr

35

SwiSS Biotech Day

© S

ahac

hatz

/shu

tter

sto

ck.c

om

april 20, 2021 congress center Basel

Organized by:

@

“WHITE BIOTECHNOLOGY” WORKING GROUP

Leading chemical companies are exploring the op-portunities that have been opened up by modern bio-technology, especially in the field of “white” or indus-trial biotechnology. And they are also applying thesetechnologies, wherever it makes sense. The SBA takessuch initiatives seriously and has formed a workinggroup specifically dedicated to white biotechnology.The Swiss Industrial Biocatalysis Consortium is animportant partner in this effort. The group includesleading multinational companies that support whitebiotechnology as a pillar of economic growth. Theplanned activities are in agreement with OECD strategies.In partnership with the Swiss Biotechnet (see pages14/15) the SBA develops training programmes and use-ful support tools for the industry. It is of importancethat the industry specifies its training needs so thatthe academic side can create tailor-made education.This strategy ensures that the industry gets the rightworkforce with the right education. The SBA profitsfrom the marketing alliance “Swiss Biotech” (see box)in a multiplied form. Thanks to Swiss Biotech, the

sector is internationally visible. The project-specificparticipating companies (most of them young and in-ternationally less savvy) find a comprehensive partnerwhich is helping to put them in the public window.The participating Life Science Regions are importantinternal carriers of the dynamics in the Biotech sec-tor, thus enhancing the common understanding of theindustry. This and more knowledge is brought intoEuropa Bio, the European Biotech Association, wherethe SBA is an active member.

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SWISS BIOTECH...

...is an alliance of four leading Biotech regions ofSwitzerland (Bio Alps, BioPolo Ticino, Basel Areaand Greater Zurich Area). They have combined ef-forts to streamline interests of the national biotechsector. The SWX Swiss Exchange holds a leadingposition in terms of lifescience listings and offerscompanies from that industry – be they located inSwitzerland or abroad – access to an international-ly recognised financial marketplace. The initiativewas co-founded by the SBA which also managesthe executive office of Swiss Biotech.

Domenico Alexakis is Executive Director of the Swiss Biotech Association.


For further information please visit www.swissbiotechassociation.ch


Join the Swiss Biotech Day and take the chance to meet senior experts from the life science industry and acade-mia from across Europe.

What you can expect:› 700+ attendees from 25+ countries› 50+ exhibitors› Presentation of the Swiss Biotech Report› Swiss Biotech Success Stories Awards› Parallel tracks focussed on innovative biotech start-ups

and medium-sized biotech companies › Thematically focused panel discussions› Pre-scheduled one-to-one partnering meetings › High-traffic exhibition with ongoing catering

Find out more at swissbiotechday.ch

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Swiss Biotech AssociationStauffacherstrasse 168004 Zürich Switzerland

T: +41 44 455 56 78

[email protected] www.swissbiotech.org

annual report · actelion 12 debiopharm 14 helsinn 16 venture, venturelab, venture kick 18 werner...

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