Life sciences capital

Basel is home to some of the world’s leading pharma companies, including Novartis.

The Basel region’s status as a capital of the life sciences industry is no recent development. From Renaissance alchemist and physician Paracelsus to the 1950 Nobel Prize winner Tadeus Reichstein, responsible for isolating cortisone and synthesising vitamin C, Basel boasts a long-established standing within the field. Such an illustrious history is emphasised by the city’s Museum of Pharmaceutical History, home to one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical collections, which is housed in the former workplace of both men.

However, this is not a region living off its former glories; the Basel area has had Switzerland’s number one growth rate over the past ten years and shows no sign of slowing down.

Despite being renowned as Europe’s leading centre for pharmaceuticals, chemical and modern biotechnology, Hans-Peter Wessels, managing director of Basel Area Business Development, stresses the need to keep evolving apace. ‘We are dedicated to maintaining an ideal environment,’ he says. ‘It is important that the region continues to offer a foundation for success.’

Economic cycle
Providing a climate that is conducive to productivity is, in Wessels’ eyes, made easier as the number of companies increases. ‘Having so many different activities and companies from related fields working side-by-side helps create synergies and benefits competition,’ he says. ‘Customers, investors, venture capitalists and new laboratories – everyone operates very closely and we do our best to ensure that development becomes a self-fulfilling cycle.’

Although many companies operate within similar spheres, Wessels says that companies do not have to be a Novartis or Roche-type firm to operate here. ‘There are opportunities for businesses of all sizes,’ he explains. ‘In fact, there are schemes in place to attract smaller start-ups.’

These include grants for spin-off companies from the universities and initial tax-reductions for new ventures. The region certainly has the facilities to accommodate them, with the further enlarged laboratory complexes – an i-park and TechCentre – currently in development underlining the commitment to growth.

In both scenarios, applications are processed on a case-by-case basis and such initiatives are not reflective of an overall approach towards attracting new business. Unlike elsewhere, massive tax incentives to attract overseas investment are not on offer. Instead, policy reflects just how confident and established the region has become. ‘Taxes are quite low and further benefits for businesses to come here are evident,’ says Wessels. ‘Our policy is conservative because we know that we are already good. Business that would come here to take advantage of tax breaks, only to move on as soon as a better deal came along, is business that we can do without. We are concentrating on the long term.’

Labour issues
It is easy to believe that such an intense growth rate and concentration of industry could lead to staffing shortages. Wessels staunchly disputes this interpretation. ‘Within one hour of Basel, you will find four of the top 100 universities in the world,’ he says. ‘This allows for extremely beneficial collaborative projects and recruitment. The universities are attuned to the needs of surrounding business.’

Wessels cites the establishment of ETH Zurich and the University of Basel’s joint systems biology institute and the new life sciences college at the local University of Applied Sciences as developments that will further swell the labour market. But Wessels is also keen to stress that employees are not drawn from Switzerland alone. Basel’s population is temporarily swollen by the influx of 50,000 workers each day. ‘We strive to have as many locals working within the industry as possible, but Switzerland is only a small country,’ he explains. ‘Many people come over from Germany and France each morning only to return home after work. People can enjoy the benefits of Swiss salaries, but spend their income elsewhere.’

Such internationalisation of the region’s industry, workforce and character lends weight to Wessels’ claim that the Basel region is ‘open to the world’.

Company profile
Basel Area Business Development is an organisation that promotes the benefits of Basel’s economic region as the main contact point for companies and entrepreneurs wishing to establish their business in the area.

For more information, visit: www.baselarea.ch.

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