3 Questions to Adrian Cuadra Leon, General Manager of UCB ALPS (Austria & Switzerland)
A part of your work focuses on rare diseases. In this field in particular, rapid access to innovative therapies is crucial. In your view, what role does patient access play in Switzerland’s attractiveness as a pharmaceutical hub?
Switzerland has built a strong reputation based on scientific excellence, a highly developed healthcare system, and a culture of innovation. But today, the real differentiator is not only the ability to discover new therapies, but it is also the ability to ensure that patients benefit from them quickly and predictably. When innovative medicines reach patients efficiently, it reinforces Switzerland’s position as a country where innovation is fully realized. It also influences key decisions for companies: where to invest, where to conduct clinical trials, and where to scale new therapies across different therapeutic areas.
Conversely, when access becomes slower or less predictable, there is a risk that innovation gradually shifts toward countries that are more agile. In today’s global environment, this is not a theoretical risk, competition between countries to attract research, development, and launches is intensifying.
Switzerland continues to have all the strengths to remain at the forefront but sustaining this leadership will require maintaining alignment between scientific progress and access frameworks ensuring that evaluation, pricing, and reimbursement processes reflect the speed and complexity of modern innovation. Patient access is part of UCB sustainability ambition and is a defining factor of a country’s attractiveness as a pharmaceutical and innovation hub. It goes beyond healthcare performance as it reflects how effectively a system translates scientific progress into real-world outcomes for patients across all disease areas, from broad to rare conditions. Not all patients or populations experience disease or access to care in the same way. By continuously deepening our understanding of patients through richer data and insights, we can better inform our research and development until distribution and delivery. In this way, we strive to remove barriers to access, such as limited awareness, availability, affordability, accessibility and adoptability, so that patients who can benefit from new medicines are able to access them.
You have worked in various European markets. Based on your international experience, how attractive is Switzerland as a location for innovative pharmaceutical companies?
Having worked across several European markets, I can say that Switzerland remains an attractive location for innovative pharmaceutical companies, but it is increasingly competing in a more dynamic and demanding global environment. Switzerland has its own independent regulatory authority, which allows for high-quality and science-driven assessments. Combined with a strong and well-funded healthcare system, this creates a very solid foundation for innovation. Another key strength is the quality of collaboration between stakeholders, industry, academia, healthcare providers, and authorities. This spirit of partnership has historically been a major enabler of innovation and trust, and it remains one of Switzerland’s defining advantages. At the same time, we need to be vigilant as over the years, Switzerland has gradually lost positions in international comparisons on patient access to innovative therapies. This is often linked to the fact that, while our system is rigorous, it can also be slower in enabling access and sometimes more restrictive in defining eligible patient populations.
In a global environment where other countries are moving with speed and ambition to attract investment and accelerate access, this becomes a critical factor. Competitiveness today is not only about scientific excellence, but also about how quickly innovation can reach patients in practice.
Switzerland is still well positioned but sustaining its attractiveness will require ensuring that collaboration remains at the center, and that the system continues to evolve, particularly in access timelines, regulatory efficiency, recognition of innovation and decision-making agility.
The Life Sciences industry is a major contributor of economic growth in Switzerland. Taking the example of UCB, since 1996, the company has invested more than 750 million Swiss francs in its Bulle site (canton of Fribourg). According to the study carried out in 2024 by BAK Economics, life sciences is a major industry in the Fribourg economy, generating an added value of more than one and a half billion francs in 2023, this makes it the most productive branch of the canton of Fribourg. In October 2025, UCB announced that it will make an additional investment of more than 100 million CHF in the Bulle site for a new chemical compound manufacturing unit. By 2029-2030 UCB plans to create about 80 new jobs in Switzerland in addition to the already more than 800 employees. The UCB example is a testament to Switzerland’s attractiveness for innovation and investment. However, maintaining this momentum will require policies that evolve at the same pace as science and global competition.
The risk is that Switzerland could progressively lose momentum if it does not adapt with the same speed as the global innovation landscape. Other countries are already moving decisively to position innovation as a core enabler of health outcomes and system sustainability, not simply as a cost.
For Switzerland, the urgency is in the need to continue evolving our frameworks to ensure that innovation is recognized not only for its budget impact, but for the value it brings to patients, to society, and to the healthcare system. With courageous decisions, Switzerland has the opportunity to reinforce its position as a global benchmark, combining scientific excellence with a clear commitment to delivering meaningful impact for patients.
The development of new therapies, particularly in fields such as neurology and rare diseases, requires close collaboration between different stakeholders. What role does policy play in this collaboration, and how do you plan to strengthen it further as an Interpharma member?
Innovation in areas such as neurology, immunology, and rare diseases is, by nature, highly complex. It requires close alignment between multiple stakeholders: industry, academia, healthcare professionals, regulators, payers, and people living with these conditions. Policy plays a critical role in enabling this ecosystem to function effectively.
Policy can do more than regulate; it creates the conditions for trust, collaboration, and speed. It shapes how we generate evidence, how we use data, how we conduct research, and ultimately how quickly patients can benefit from innovation. In that sense, policy is a strategic enabler of progress.
Switzerland has strong foundations in this regard. There is a long tradition of constructive dialogue and partnership across stakeholders, which has supported high-quality research and innovation. But as science evolves and is becoming more personalized, more data-driven, and more complex, policy frameworks must evolve as well.
Looking ahead, there are three areas where policy can further strengthen collaboration:
- First, enabling faster and more integrated access to innovation. This requires continued alignment between regulatory approval, pricing, and reimbursement processes, with a shared focus on delivering value to patients quickly and predictably.
- Second, unlocking the potential of data and digital health. Switzerland has tremendous assets, but greater clarity and connectivity are needed to fully leverage real-world evidence and support better, faster decision-making.
- Third, reinforcing Switzerland’s attractiveness for clinical research. Simplifying processes and reducing administrative complexity, while maintaining high standards, will be key to ensuring Switzerland remains a preferred location for innovation.
As an Interpharma member, I see our role as an active and responsible partner in this evolution. That means engaging in open, solution-oriented dialogue, bringing evidence and international perspective, and contributing to a shared ambition: making Switzerland not only a place where innovation is discovered, but where it is effectively translated into better outcomes for people.
At UCB, we are committed to ensuring that innovation reaches the people who need it most. Through close collaboration with authorities, healthcare providers, patient organizations, and payers, we work every day to help accelerate access to innovative medicines while supporting a sustainable healthcare system. This commitment reflects our broader belief that scientific innovation only achieves its full value when it translates into better outcomes for people.
Ultimately, if we align around a common vision, Switzerland can continue to lead, not only through scientific excellence, but through its ability to collaborate, adapt, and deliver meaningful impact for patients and the society.