Switzerland’s Basel Region Crowned ‘Europe’s Top Destination to Launch a Drug Device Company’, According to Pharmapack Report

Pharmapack Europe: ‘Basel the best location for drug device innovation in Europethanks to combination of world class manufacturing and existing biomedical research infrastructure’ 

 

Paris, 6th January 2025: New research released ahead of Pharmapack Europe – the continent’s largest partnering event for medical device and packaging innovation – has ranked the Basel region as the most attractive destination in Europe for launching a new drug device company. The study surveyed over 280 global pharmaceutical executives, asking them to identify the best location based on factors such as plant costs, access to skilled personnel, and ongoing operational expenses.

 

Basel emerged as the clear leader, selected by one-third of respondents, outperforming Lombardy (18%), Catalunya (17%), the UK’s "Golden Triangle" (15%), and Baden-Württemberg in Germany (14%).

 

The event, which takes places next month at the Paris Expo (January 22/23, 2025) is renowned as Europe’s premier pharmaceutical hub and empowers start-up innovators to meet with larger drug device and big pharma partners. Many of the breakthrough technologies in device design and sustainable packaging first gained industry attention at earlier editions of Pharmapack.

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“As one of the few places where early-stage innovators can meet with investors and scale-up partners, we play a vital role in propagating drug delivery innovation,” commented Sherma Ellis-Daal, Brand Director at Pharmapack Europe. “This research identifies the optimal locations for discovering and developing the next generation technologies for a novel device or new packaging - from concept to commercialisation. In fact, one of the major impediments to development success is simply having the access to the right partners to scale, which is why we are encouraging innovators from across these major European centres to attend the event.”

 

In a further boost to industry prospects in Switzerland and Germany were selected as the two regions best to build a new biomanufacturing facility. Basel was selected as the clear winner, despite higher labour costs, due to its ‘unrivalled access to qualified personal and quality of research firms and infrastructure’.

 

Pharmapack Europe expects over 6,000 attendees and over 370 companies this year, with significant growth in early-stage companies participating. Its Start-Up Hub will host over 20 emerging companies, with increasing interest from German and Swiss executives seeking new development and licensing opportunities in device and packaging innovations.

 

Stèfan Halbherr, CEO, InnoMedica a Swiss-based biotech and a Start-up Market innovator,attending Pharmapack to meet new clinical and commercial-scale partners for its nanocarriers filling technology, added: “It’s not surprising to us at all. Switzerland has a tremendous history of pharmaceutical innovation and highly qualified personnel. However, what is often underappreciated outside the country is the access to precision engineering available here. With many new devices and innovations targeting smaller patient cohorts for precision and personalized medicine applications, we need a fresh approach to device design and manufacturing flexibility. Switzerland offers an exceptional foundation in manufacturing precision machinery. For example, to develop our unique approach to nanoparticle device filling, we collaborated with a manufacturer specializing in the production of small, highly precise machinery traditionally used in watchmaking. Moving forward, you’ll see smaller companies leading the next generation of med-tech innovation by adopting techniques from other industries and applying them to Switzerland’s world-class biomedical infrastructure.”

 

The full results of the Pharmapack Report 2024 and Index will be released during the event onCPHI-online. Click here for a full breakdown of conference topics, or more information on the event please visit: www.pharmapackeurope.com/en

 

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Notes to editors

 

About Pharmapack

Launched in 1997, Pharmapack is the leading European event for Pharmaceutical Packaging, Drug Delivery, Medical Devices and Machinery. In the past 25+ years, the event has grown from a conference with a small table-top exhibition, to an event hosting 370+ exhibitors and welcoming attendees from 75 different countries.

At the heart of Pharma

Pharmapack Europe (24-25 Jan, 2024 at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles - Hall 7.2, Paris). CPHI Japan (17-19 April, 2024 at the Big Sight Exhibition Centre – Tokyo, Japan); CPHI North America (7-9 May, 2024 at Pennsylvania Convention Center, United States); CPHI China (19-21 June 2024 at SNIEC – Shanghai, China); CPHI South East Asia (12-14 Jul 2024 at QSNCC, Bangkok, Thailand); CPHI Milan (8-10 October2024 at Fiera Milano – Milan, Italy); CPHI & PMEC India (26-28 November 2024 at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi NCR – Delhi, India); with support from year-round pharma news, products and services at CPHI Online.

About Informa Markets

Informa Markets creates platforms for industries and specialist markets to trade, innovate and grow. Our portfolio is comprised of more than 550 international B2B events and brands in markets including Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Infrastructure, Construction & Real Estate, Fashion & Apparel, Hospitality, Food & Beverage, and Health & Nutrition, among others. We provide customers and partners around the globe with opportunities to engage, experience and do business through face-to-face exhibitions, specialist digital content and actionable data solutions. As the world’s leading exhibitions organizer, we bring a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year.

 

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For media enquiries, please contact:

Alex Heeley or Nidhi Narain

De Facto Communications

T: +44 (0) 203 735 8165 /  +44 (0) 7769015043

E: n.narain@defacto.co.uk  / a.heeley@defacto.co.uk

 

 

 

Information Classification: General

*The Drug Delivery Innovation Index is the collateralised scores of over 250 executives in the Annual Pharmapack Survey