How collaboration between Basel Area’s biotech hub and Boston-Cambridge has created a corridor of innovation and investment
Biopharma companies are driving innovation on both sides of the Atlantic, with US companies expanding into Europe and vice versa. Swiss company Novartis exemplified this maneuver, when it established the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) in Cambridge, MA, more than 20 years ago. NIBR’s arrival marked a significant milestone in Boston’s evolution into a scientific regional multiplier, cementing the area’s emergence as a key player in the expanding global life sciences landscape of the time. Talent and investment were attracted to the region that, in turn, served as a magnet for startup growth and maturation.
Switzerland proves the ideal European base for Moderna
Similarly, US companies that expand to Europe frequently choose Switzerland as their headquarters. For example, Moderna Therapeutics – known for its revolutionary mRNA technology – expanded its operations into Europe at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, leveraging the strategic advantages of Basel for its business. One critical determinant in this decision was Basel’s proximity to the Novartis CDMO partner, Lonza. Another decision driver was Moderna’s accelerating growth and talent requirements. Basel was perfectly suited to address this critical need. Moderna tapped into the region’s robust biopharma ecosystem and benefited from the ample availability of highly skilled, deeply experienced biotech talent. Basel-based experts in commercial functions and supply chain management answered Moderna’s (and the world’s) call to immediately ramp up activities in Basel, enabling the organization to satisfy exploding demand for COVID-19 vaccines in real time. Moderna hired nearly 100 employees in less than a year. Today, Moderna’s 200-person EMEA headquarters are firmly established in Basel-Stadt.
"The commercial talent pool in Basel is substantial, bolstered by the presence of many global headquarters and regional offices that require top-tier commercial expertise. Additionally, the collaborative spirit and networking opportunities within the Basel Area life sciences community contribute significantly to the development of commercial talent - that has been an ever-constant element to life in Basel."
Theo Rowley
Director of Talent Acquisition at Moderna
The Basel Area – home of multiple biotechs
Moderna is not alone in selecting Basel, Switzerland for European commercial headquarters. BeOne Medicines has a considerable presence in the Basel Area. This global company with roots in Beijing and Cambridge expanded to Europe with a Basel-based headquarters in 2018. Today, BeOne has approximately 300 people in Basel, who run commercialization strategy, as well as clinical trials and supply chain management.
"Our experience in setting up in Basel was similar to the city’s riverside current – effortless, smooth and refreshing. The support offered at launch let us focus on our operations with confidence."
John V. Oyler
Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of BeOne Medicines
Perfect location for big players and startups working on innovative therapeutics
Twenty years ago, the major source of innovative therapeutics developed in Basel stemmed from Roche and Novartis research labs. However, as we enter the mid-2020s, Basel is nurturing a thriving startup ecosystem distinguished by commercial- and clinical-stage life sciences entities that consistently attract interest from larger biopharma players and top-tier investors:
Boehringer Ingelheim acquired Basel-located NBE Therapeutics for €1.18 billion in 2020
Alentis Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech engaged in tumor and fibrosis research, raised $181.4 million in Series D financing in 2024, supported by a syndicate of globally respected biotech investors. The company expanded from the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area, building clinical operations in the US.
Preclinical-stage US companies are also taking advantage of first-class lab infrastructure and highly skilled talent that is available in the Basel Area:
Boston-headquartered biotech Monte Rosa Therapeutics and Cambridge-based LifeMine Therapeutics wanted to leverage the scientific talent and maintain additional lab facilities in Basel.
Basel Area and San Diego-based Bright Peak Therapeutics closed a Series C financing round in 2024, securing a $90 million investment. Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC led the financing. Other investors included founding investor Versant Ventures.
"Over the course of time, we realized that it would be desirable to have a second site for the company so that we could tap into a diverse workforce. It would have been obvious to go to San Francisco, but we weren’t sure that would help us to gain the diversity we were seeking, so we looked at multiple locations in Europe. From that analysis it became very clear that Basel was the place where we should be. There’s already such a well-established, highly consolidated and dense pharmaceutical and biotech industry there, with strong universities and hospitals."
Greg Verdine
Co-Founder and CEO of LifeMine Therapeutics
Acquisition targets
Like Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, other Boston-based biotech and healthtech companies have been drawn to the Basel Area because of the surfeit of exciting organizations that have served as acquisition targets.
Ginkgo’s strategic approach to tapping into Basel’s ecosystem is echoed by its Director – Business Development, Philipp Heuermann, who notes, “Basel offers a unique convergence of scientific research, pharmaceutical expertise, and a progressive regulatory environment. Together, this makes Basel a vibrant ecosystem that Ginkgo, as a partner-driven R&D service company, is eager to engage and support.”
These strategic moves are signs of a broader trend, with Boston area biotechs looking for compelling growth opportunities, either through organic expansion of existing teams, or via acquisitive corporate strategies.
In sum, the Basel Area offers expanding life sciences companies firmly established talent, as well as investment and infrastructure benefits that support both short- and long-term needs. Perfectly positioned as the target destination of choice for every growing biotech, Basel connects Boston – and other major worldwide scientific hubs – to the rest of the life sciences world.
*Alloy Therapeutics acquired deepCDR in 2021. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals acquired VectivBio in 2023. Cambridge-based ARTBIO has its footprint in the Basel Area due to the evolution of Nucligen AS. Ginkgo Biosciences acquired Basel-based FGen AG in 2022.
