Chinese Biotechs Eye Swiss Collaboration As Relations With US Sour

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) With growing uncertainty in US financial markets and research funding, Chinese companies are swooping in to present themselves as stable, open partners to the Swiss biotech sector. This content was published on May 8, 2025 - 16:41 7 minutes

I report on the Swiss pharmaceutical industry and healthcare topics such as access to medicine, biomedical innovation, and the impact of diseases like cancer. I grew up just outside San Francisco and studied international affairs with a focus on development economics and healthcare policy. Prior to joining SWI swissinfo in 2018, I was a freelance journalist and a researcher on business and human rights.

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At a time of trade wars and geopolitical tensions, a conference under the theme“international collaboration” seems like something from a bygone era. But that was indeed the tagline of the Swiss Biotech Day annual conference, which took place from May 5-6 in Basel, and was the largest on record with 3,000 participants – around 45% of whom came from abroad.

As a small country, Switzerland relies heavily on foreign partners for research and economic growth. This is even more the case for biotech companies that are often small and looking for partners for capital and expertise to develop and bring new drugs to market – a process that typically takes 10-15 years.

But stock market volatility, cuts to biomedical research funding and potential tariffs on pharmaceuticals are creating uncertainty around partnerships in the US, which has long been the go-to place for collaboration.

“Private biotech clinics are on a quest to develop products for 10-15 years,” said Michael Altorfer, CEO of the Swiss Biotech Association, at a media conference.“What we are talking about now [referring to geopolitical tensions] is short term. In three or six months, it may look different again.”

But until then, the uncertainty in the US is creating an opening for China, which is eager to establish itself as a major partner with European biotechs. The number of Chinese delegates at the Swiss Biotech Day has steadily increased. There were at least 20 Chinese companies in attendance or sponsoring including WuXi group, a major Chinese drug developer and manufacturer, and XtaiPi, a Chinese company pioneering AI for early drug development.

“China really wants to explore more long term and mutual trust cooperation with Switzerland and Europe,” said Menyue Dong, an economics professor in Switzerland who led a roundtable discussion on China-Swiss collaboration at the Swiss Biotech Day.“There is a shift in focus from the US to Europe.”

Mutually beneficial

China's growing presence at the Swiss Biotech Day reflects the major inroads the country has made in the biotech sector. They are now the largest developers of major classes of drugs such as antibody drug conjugates, used to treat cancer, and are a key player in cell and gene therapies. Chinese companies are also rapidly advancing artificial intelligence to speed up drug development.

“Chinese companies are no longer just copying other's innovation but really developing their own innovation,” said Stella Gu, from the Zug-based subsidiary of Chinese clinical trials company Tigermed, which has 10,000 employees in dozens of countries.

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