Clinical Trial Services Switzerland: 7.5–11× EBITDA — SWOT & Market Data 2026

1.0Market Snapshot

−26% since 2014: Clinical trials in Switzerland fell from 185 in 2014 to 137 in 2024 while the number of trials worldwide rose, according to Interpharma and the Swiss Cancer Institute (September 2026). They do not publish the definition behind the count.
198: New clinical trials with medicinal products approved by Swissmedic in 2024 (Swissmedic annual report 2024).
89: Clinical trials inspected by Swissmedic in 2025, together with 28 hospitals — more than in the previous year (Swissmedic annual report 2025).
3,000+: Employees of PSI CRO in 56 countries (January 2025) — the Zug-based CRO founded in 1995 is the largest independent one.

2.0Industry Overview

Market Scope

Switzerland is losing clinical trials. Interpharma and the Swiss Cancer Institute reported in September 2026 that the number of clinical trials conducted in the country fell from 185 in 2014 to 137 in 2024 — more than a quarter — while trials worldwide increased. Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Denmark and Austria now attract more studies; 55% of all cancer trials start in China. Academic trials, run without industry sponsors, declined most, and the Swiss Cancer Institute says 50 studies cannot go ahead for lack of funding. Swissmedic approved 198 new clinical trials with medicinal products in 2024 and inspected 89 trials and 28 hospitals in 2025.

3.0Industry Health Check (SWOT)

Key opportunityRevision of the Human Research Act

Internal factors

Strengths4

Proximity to Roche, Novartis and the Basel biotech cluster as sponsors

Weaknesses4

Trials in Switzerland fell from 185 in 2014 to 137 in 2024 (Interpharma / Swiss Cancer Institute)

External factors

Opportunities4

Revision of the Human Research Act: single portal, faster approvals, fee waivers for non-commercial trials

Threats4

Continued shift of trials to China, the US and other European countries

Sector Outlook

DefensiveBalancedGrowth

4.0Key Trends

Fewer trials in Switzerland

55%

Interpharma and the Swiss Cancer Institute reported on 24 September 2026 that clinical trials in Switzerland fell from 185 in 2014 to 137 in 2024, more than a quarter, while trials worldwide increased. Academic trials declined most. "The Swiss location is no longer automatic," said Interpharma. 55% of all cancer trials now start in China.

Pressure for faster approvals

The industry calls for a single submission portal for human research projects, faster and better coordinated approvals by ethics committees and Swissmedic, fee waivers for non-commercial trials, sustainable public funding and a national health data space. The Swiss Cancer Institute says 50 studies cannot go ahead for lack of funding.

Swissmedic steps up inspections

Swissmedic approved 198 new clinical trials with medicinal products in 2024. In 2025 it inspected more clinical trials (89) and hospitals (28) than before. Sponsors and CROs must be ready for inspections of their trial documentation and data quality at any time.

Global CROs consolidate

EQT and Goldman Sachs bought Parexel for USD 8.5 billion in 2021; ICON acquired PRA Health Sciences in 2021; Labcorp spun off its clinical development business as Fortrea in 2023. The Swiss subsidiaries of these groups serve Basel sponsors from Basel and Zurich. PSI CRO in Zug remains the largest independent, privately owned CRO of its size.

Growth comes from multinational trials

15%

With fewer trials run in Switzerland, CROs based here grow by managing trials abroad: PSI CRO grew 15% in 2024 with staff in 56 countries and a staff turnover of 9%. Smaller Swiss service firms specialise in regulatory work, pharmacovigilance or rare diseases for biotech clients.

5.0Cost Structure Benchmark

55%

15%

12%

Personnel55%: clinical research associates, project managers, data and regulatory staff
Investigator and site payments passed through15%
IT and clinical systems8%
Travel and monitoring visits5%
Rent and other costs5%
EBITDA margin12%

Indicative split for a mid-sized CRO, not a measured figure: no Swiss statistic publishes the cost structure of clinical-research firms and the global CROs do not report Swiss figures. Personnel dominates; pass-through payments to hospitals and investigators inflate revenue but carry little margin.

6.0Top Clinical Trial Services Companies in Switzerland

Name	Location	Key Facts
PSI CROCHE-113.066.888	Zug ZG	PSI CRO AG: full-service CRO founded in Switzerland in 1995 and headquartered in Zug; phase 2 and 3 trials in oncology, haematology, gastroenterology, autoimmune and infectious diseases. More than 3,000 employees in 56 countries, 15% growth in 2024 (company, January 2025); fully independent and privately owned.
ParexelCHE-114.641.513	Basel BS	PAREXEL International (CH) AG: Swiss subsidiary of Parexel, a global CRO founded in 1982, acquired for USD 8.5 billion by EQT and Goldman Sachs Asset Management in November 2021. Registered in Basel.
ICON Clinical ResearchCHE-102.601.027	Basel BS	ICON Clinical Research (Switzerland) GmbH: Swiss subsidiary of ICON, one of the largest global CROs, which acquired PRA Health Sciences in 2021. Registered in Basel.
FortreaCHE-102.998.960	Zürich ZH	Fortrea Switzerland AG: Swiss subsidiary of Fortrea, the clinical development business formerly known as Covance, spun off from Labcorp on 30 June 2023. Registered in Zurich; Labcorp kept its central-laboratory business, whose Swiss company is registered in Meyrin (GE).

PSI CRO

CHE-113.066.888

Zug ZG

PSI CRO AG: full-service CRO founded in Switzerland in 1995 and headquartered in Zug; phase 2 and 3 trials in oncology, haematology, gastroenterology, autoimmune and infectious diseases. More than 3,000 employees in 56 countries, 15% growth in 2024 (company, January 2025); fully independent and privately owned.

Parexel

CHE-114.641.513

Basel BS

PAREXEL International (CH) AG: Swiss subsidiary of Parexel, a global CRO founded in 1982, acquired for USD 8.5 billion by EQT and Goldman Sachs Asset Management in November 2021. Registered in Basel.

ICON Clinical Research

CHE-102.601.027

Basel BS

ICON Clinical Research (Switzerland) GmbH: Swiss subsidiary of ICON, one of the largest global CROs, which acquired PRA Health Sciences in 2021. Registered in Basel.

Fortrea

CHE-102.998.960

Zürich ZH

Fortrea Switzerland AG: Swiss subsidiary of Fortrea, the clinical development business formerly known as Covance, spun off from Labcorp on 30 June 2023. Registered in Zurich; Labcorp kept its central-laboratory business, whose Swiss company is registered in Meyrin (GE).

7.0Succession & M&A Context

Independent CROs sell to global groups — in a shrinking home market

137: clinical trials in Switzerland in 2024, down from 185 in 2014 (Interpharma / Swiss Cancer Institute)
198: new clinical trials approved by Swissmedic in 2024
USD 8.5B: price paid for Parexel by EQT and Goldman Sachs (2021)
7.5–11.0×: EBITDA deal multiples (ValIndex multiples table)

Most Swiss clinical-research firms outside the global groups are owner-managed specialists: regulatory and pharmacovigilance consultancies, site-management organisations and niche CROs founded by former pharma employees. Their buyers are global CROs and investors looking for therapeutic expertise, sponsor relationships and Swiss regulatory know-how. The decline of trials in Switzerland — from 185 in 2014 to 137 in 2024 — means buyers look at where the revenue comes from: firms that manage multinational trials or serve foreign sponsors are worth more than those that depend on Swiss sites. ValIndex's multiples table puts clinical-trial services at 7.5–11.0× EBITDA in transactions and 6.0–8.0× on statutory valuations.

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8.0Regional Clusters

Basel

BSBL

Roche, Novartis and the Basel biotech cluster are the main sponsors; Parexel and ICON have their Swiss companies registered in Basel.

Zug and Central Switzerland

ZGLU

PSI CRO, the largest independent CRO of its size, is headquartered in Zug; IQVIA AG is registered in Risch (ZG).

Zurich

Fortrea Switzerland AG is registered in Zurich; the University Hospital Zurich runs one of the largest academic trial programmes.

Bern

The Swiss Clinical Trial Organisation (SCTO), which coordinates the academic clinical trial units, is based in Bern, as is the clinical trials unit of the University of Bern.

Lake Geneva

GEVD

Labcorp's Swiss central-laboratory company is registered in Meyrin (GE); the university hospitals of Geneva and Lausanne run academic trials.

Sources

Medinside — «Der Standort Schweiz ist kein Selbstläufer mehr» (Interpharma / Swiss Cancer Institute, 25 September 2026): trials 185 (2014) to 137 (2024)Interpharma — Klinische Forschung unter Druck: Die Schweiz verliert den Anschluss (24 September 2026)cash.ch — In der Schweiz werden immer weniger klinische Studien durchgeführt (50 studies unfunded; 55% of cancer trials start in China)Swissmedic — Annual report 2024: 198 new clinical trials approved EDI — Swissmedic veröffentlicht Geschäftsbericht 2025: 89 clinical trials and 28 hospitals inspected PSI CRO — PSI CRO announces 15% growth and ultra-low staff turnover (30 January 2025): 3,000 employees, 56 countries, founded 1995 GlobeNewswire — EQT Private Equity and Goldman Sachs Asset Management complete acquisition of Parexel (15 November 2021, USD 8.5bn)Labcorp — Labcorp completes spin-off of Fortrea (June 2023)Wikipedia — ICON plc (acquisition of PRA Health Sciences, 2021)Zefix — Swiss Central Business Name Index (register entries of all key players)

Alain Walder, M.A. HSG · ValIndex|Data as of 2026-09|10 sources cited

Corrections

Figures and statements from the February 2026 edition that this edition withdraws or corrects, and why.

"CHF 2.5B market (Interpharma 2025)", "~200 companies", "~8,000 employees", "~45% export ratio", "+7.5% growth" and "~85% capacity utilisation" withdrawn: no source publishes these figures; Interpharma reports a decline in trials, not market growth.
"Covance (LabCorp Drug Development)" replaced: Labcorp spun off its clinical development business as Fortrea in 2023.
SGS removed from the key players: its clinical research role in Switzerland could not be confirmed.
The Swiss Clinical Trial Organisation, CTU Bern and IBCSG are no longer listed as companies: they are an association and academic organisations.
The cost split is now labelled as indicative: it was never measured.

9.0Frequently Asked Questions

▶How much is a clinical research company worth in Switzerland?

ValIndex's multiples table puts Swiss clinical-trial service firms at 7.5–11.0× EBITDA in transactions and 6.0–8.0× EBITDA on statutory valuations. Buyers pay most for firms with therapeutic expertise, recurring sponsor relationships and revenue from multinational trials. EBITDA should exclude pass-through payments to investigators and sites, which inflate revenue but carry little margin.

▶What drives the value of a Swiss CRO?

Buyers price: (1) sponsor relationships and repeat business; (2) therapeutic and regulatory expertise; (3) the share of revenue from multinational trials versus Swiss sites; (4) inspection history with Swissmedic and foreign authorities; (5) staff retention — PSI CRO reports 9% turnover; (6) dependence on the founder.

▶How many clinical trials are run in Switzerland?

Interpharma and the Swiss Cancer Institute count 137 clinical trials in Switzerland in 2024, down from 185 in 2014, without publishing their definition. Swissmedic approved 198 new clinical trials with medicinal products in 2024 and inspected 89 trials in 2025. The figures measure different things and are not directly comparable.

▶Who are the main clinical research organisations in Switzerland?

The Swiss market consists of subsidiaries of global CROs — Parexel and ICON in Basel, Fortrea in Zurich, IQVIA in Risch — and PSI CRO in Zug, founded in Switzerland in 1995, with more than 3,000 employees in 56 countries. Smaller specialised CROs, regulatory consultancies and the academic clinical trial units of the university hospitals complete the market.

▶What are the key trends in Swiss clinical research?

Five trends: (1) fewer trials in Switzerland — 137 in 2024 against 185 in 2014; (2) industry pressure for a single portal, faster approvals and public funding; (3) more Swissmedic inspections (89 trials in 2025); (4) consolidation of global CROs — Parexel, ICON/PRA, Fortrea; (5) growth for Swiss-based CROs comes from multinational trials.

▶What are the main risks when buying a Swiss CRO?

The main risks are: (1) the shrinking number of trials in Switzerland; (2) dependence on a few sponsors; (3) inspection findings and data-quality issues; (4) loss of key staff; (5) biotech funding cycles. Due diligence should review sponsor contracts, the backlog, inspection reports and the share of pass-through revenue.

▶Why is Switzerland losing clinical trials?

The industry blames approval procedures it describes as slow, unpredictable and expensive, insufficient public funding for academic trials and the lack of a connected health data system. Other countries — Spain, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Austria, the US and China — compete actively for trials; 55% of cancer trials now start in China (Interpharma / Swiss Cancer Institute, September 2026).

▶Where is clinical research concentrated in Switzerland?

Basel is the centre, with the pharmaceutical sponsors and the Swiss companies of Parexel and ICON. PSI CRO is headquartered in Zug and IQVIA is registered in Risch; Fortrea is in Zurich; the Swiss Clinical Trial Organisation is in Bern; Labcorp's central-laboratory company is in Meyrin near Geneva. The university hospitals run academic trials in all regions.

Clinical Trial Services

Clinical Trial Services business valuation in Switzerland