The Health Valley covers the Western Switzerland region, where the life sciences sector extends from Geneva to Bern, including the seven cantons of Bern,

Fribourg , Location of , Location of () () or , ; or , ; gsw, label=Swiss German, Frybùrg ; it, Friburgo or ; rm, Friburg. is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

, Jura,

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, , ; german: Neuenburg) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel, situated on the shoreline of Lake Neuchâtel. Since the fusion in 2021 of the municipalities of Neuchâtel, Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux, and Valangin, ...

Valais Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the S ...

and

Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...

. This cluster presents a critical mass of 1,000 companies, research centers and innovation support structures, representing today more than 25,000 employees. The Health Valley strives to animate the life sciences ecosystem of the region, by establishing thriving bridges between its ambassadors. The name of the Health Valley is inspired by that of

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Count ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

(where the focus is on

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system ...

). According to Swiss newspaper

Le Temps ''Le Temps'' (literally "The Time") is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. It is the sole nationwide French-language non-specialised daily newspaper of Switzerland. Since 2021, it has ...

, there were close to 1,000 biotech and medtech companies in the Health Valley in 2017, employing 25,000 people. The Health Valley network is led by BioAlps, an association funded by the 7 cantons of Western Switzerland and 12 academic members such as EPFL, UNIL, UNINE, UNIGE, HES-SO, HEIG-VD, HEPIA, UNIFR, CHUV, HUG, CSEM, SIB. Its mission is to represent the whole ecosystem and to foster synergies between all the actors. A digital interactive map, project led in 2016 by th
Fondation Inartis
of the regional actors is located a
healthvalley.ch
According to Swiss journalist, the idea of a Health Valley was actively supported by

Patrick Aebischer Patrick Aebischer (born 22 November 1954 in Fribourg, Switzerland) has been the president of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) from 17 March 2000 to 31 December 2016. He is also a professor in neuroscience and head of the Ne ...

during his tenure as president of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne/EPFL (2000-2016). Notably, Aebischer promoted teaching and research in the

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, th ...

while deepening cooperation with Lausanne University Hospital/CHUV. Biotech expert Jürg Zürcher argues that Switzerland as a whole constitutes a cluster, with the

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS) ...

BioValley employing 50,000 people and the Zurich region employing 21,000. "Together, these three regions form the densest network of biotech firms anywhere in the world", Swiss Info notes, with over 40% of the world's pharmaceutical companies in the Basel region alone. Foreign competing clusters include the

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

cluster in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

clusters in the

, as well as emerging ones in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

(

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

) and China (

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major Sub-provincial division, sub-provincial city and one of the Special economic zones of China, special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pea ...

, SICHH, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Université de Lausanne, Wyss Center for bio and neuro-engineering *Companies : Abionic - AC Immune - ALRO Engineering SA - Altran - Anecova - Bachem - Bracco - Celgene - Covance - CSL Behring - Debiopharm - Eli Lilly - EspeRare - Ferring Pharmaceuticals - Glenmark Pharmaceuticals - Haleon - IBM - IE Life Science Engineering - Incyte – Iqone Healthcare - Lonza - MayBa.ch - - Merck - NV Logistics - Regen Lab - Socar Research - Socorex - Sophia Genetics - Sunstar - Symbios - Symetis - TRB Chemedica - UCB - Valsynthèse *Support: A3P Suisse - Banque Cantonale du Valais - BioAlps - Biopôle - Campus Biotech - Espace Création - Etat de Neuchâtel - EY - Gevers - GGBa - Inartis Network - Innovaud - Katzarov - Kessler - Lausanne Region - MedC. Partners - Medical Cluster - Promotion économique du Canton de Berne - Salon EPHJ-EPMT-SMT - SICHH - The Ark - UniverCité - Voisin Life Sciences Consulting *Hospitals : CHUV - Clinique de la Source - Clinique Romande de réadaptation - HUG - Institut de recherche en réadaptation-réinsertion *People
Prof. Benoît Dubuis

Ernesto Bertarelli Ernesto Silvio Maurizio Bertarelli (born 22 September 1965) is an Italian-born Swiss billionaire businessman and philanthropist. The 2017 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List estimated the family's wealth at £11.5 billion, an increase of £1 ...

, Hansjörg Wyss

Notes and references

External links

BioAlps - Life Sciences ClusterInartis FoundationRepublic of Innovation - Health Valley databaseSwiss Life Sciences DatabaseInVivo magazine
{{Portal bar, Science, Switzerland Subdivisions of Switzerland Romandy Pharmaceutical companies of Switzerland Biomedical districts Science and technology in Switzerland

See also

Notes and references

External links