LIFE SCIENCES & HEALTH

At the heart of the Health Valley

In the field of life sciences, the canton of Vaud has an abundance of high-quality infrastructure, and also cutting-edge knowledge and expertise. The region is often referred to as “Health Valley”.

The Centre hospitalier universitaire du canton de Vaud (CHUV) plays a central role in medical care, medical research and education. It is developing ambitious projects such as Neurotech, a unique platform in Europe dedicated to the development, validation and implementation of new non-invasive neurotechnologies. The Department of Oncology carries out work of international renown, particularly in the field of immunotherapy.

The canton is also part of the BioAlps community, the life sciences cluster of Western Switzerland. BioAlps represents an active ecosystem of research institutes, academic institutions, start-ups and large multinationals, concentrated in a small, attractive geographical area with an excellent infrastructure. These include the Biopôle innovation park in Epalinges, which comprises the Vaud life sciences campus, designed to provide a dynamic ecosystem for life sciences players of all specializations.

The region is at the forefront of research in these fields, as well as in neuroscience, immunology, nutrition and cardiovascular disease. Innovative disciplines such as bioinformatics, medical imaging and robotic surgery are also expanding rapidly.

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Find out more about Life Sciences in Vaud (2018 edition)

In Vaud:

2,000

life sciences companies

0

research labs

25,000

employees in the sector

60 +

international businesses

«Thanks to its central location in “Health Valley,” Medtronic benefits from the expertise it needs during the entire lifecycle of its products: from industrialization to scale-up, manufacturing and commercialization. Medtronic’s training center for healthcare professionals, on the campus of our EMEA headquarters, is also ideally situated to contribute to the local life sciences ecosystem.»

Rob Ten Hoedt
Executive Vice President & President, EMEA, Medtronic

Our success stories

Parker Hannifin

For over a century, Parker Hannifin has contributed to technological advances that create a better world. With its Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) headquarters in the Canton of Vaud, the US conglomerate offers solutions in a broad range of markets and industrial applications.

Merck

Merck develops advanced treatments in the canton of Vaud. Now, the German multinational plans to expand its production capacity in the region.

Incyte

Incyte Biosciences International Sàrl, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Lausanne, Switzerland, is an integrated global oncology company focused on transforming the lives of cancer patients with leading-edge medicines. It is working on new medicines to advance the treatment of various forms of acute and chronic leukemia, lung cancer and other difficult-to-treat cancers.

News and events

7/2/2025

TechTour Growth Health 2025

Grow your investments, innovation and vision at the 16th edition of the leading TechTour Health event. The program includes: digital health and Medtech innovations; strategic sessions and meetings with 70+ experienced investors and 40 top-growing European companies presenting their solutions.

Lausanne

8/31/2023

Economic promotion: Strategic rapprochement with Quebec

A meeting between a delegation from the Quebec government and Vaud’s Department of the Economy, Innovation, Employment and Patrimony (DEIEP) took place yesterday in Lausanne. On this occasion, the State Councillor of the Department of the Economy, Innovation, Employment and Patrimony had the opportunity to exchange views with her Quebec counterpart, the Minister of International Relations and Francophonie and Minister responsible for the Status of Women. Sharing complementary values and assets in terms of innovation and the economy, Quebec and the Canton of Vaud, which have a common language, have agreed to set up a strategic rapprochement.

7/25/2023

Investors have confidence in Vaud startups

The Swiss Venture Capital Report serves as the primary reference for investment in Swiss start-ups. The canton of Vaud posted positive figures in an environment that was not very conducive to investment during the first half of the year.