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The speed with which regulatory authorities are able to make scientifically sound decisions on applications for the authorisation of innovative medicines is crucially important both for the industry and for patients. At the international level, Swissmedic is keeping pace with other leading regulatory authorities. Each year, the Centre for Innovation in Regulatory Science (CIRS) analyses the time taken by six authorities worldwide to authorise innovative medicinal products with new active substances. According to the latest “R&D Briefing 101”, Swissmedic remains one of the most efficient regulatory authorities, ranked second behind Japan in scientific assessment time and on a par with the EMA in terms of total throughout time. During the period under review, a large proportion of applications were processed under fast-track or internationally coordinated procedures such as Project Orbis or the Access Consortium, resulting in significantly shorter approval times.

The President of the Swiss Confederation, Karin Keller-Sutter, and the Vice President of the Federal Council, Guy Parmelin, are to fly to the United States on Tuesday, 5 August 2025, to facilitate meetings with the US authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation for Switzerland.

A new final report (railways) is available on the website of the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board STSB.

You could be interested by new pages which have been published on the OFCOM website between 15.07.2025 and 31.07.2025.

Following the United States’ announcement of a higher 39% tariff on Swiss imports, the Federal Council decided on 4 August to continue negotiations. It remains in close contact with the affected sectors of the Swiss economy and with US officials. Switzerland is committed to securing fair treatment compared with its key competitors to safeguard favourable conditions for its economy.

Federal Councillor Albert Rösti and FOEN Director Katrin Schneeberger will represent Switzerland at the fifth round of negotiations on a global agreement against plastic pollution from 5 to 14 August 2025. Switzerland is committed to an effective and practicable agreement to protect the environment and health, while emphasising the challenges of agreeing on a set of global rules.

The consumer price index (CPI) remained unchanged in July 2025 compared with the previous month, at 107.8 points (December 2020 = 100). Inflation was +0.2% compared with the same month of the previous year. These are the results of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Address by Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) at Swiss National Day in Gersau – Check against delivery

Employees of the technology transfer centre ANAXAM and researchers from the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI used the unique analytical methods available at PSI to look inside pre-filled syringes. They found that, in rare cases, zinc from the needle shield can leach into the drug solution to be injected and possibly contribute to syringe clogging.

At the UN conference on the two-state solution which took place from 28 to 30 July 2025 in New York, Switzerland called for respect for international humanitarian law by all parties, including the unhindered provision of humanitarian aid to the people of the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages, an immediate and lasting ceasefire and serious diplomatic efforts to implement the two-state solution. Around 120 states attended the conference.

Supercapacitors, or supercaps in short, are fast, powerful energy storage devices. They complement the relatively slow (dis-)charging batteries in numerous applications ranging from electric cars to industrial machines and wind turbines. A team of Empa researchers wants to develop better supercaps based on graphene – and make them ready for large-scale commercial production.

The Swiss Residential Property Price Index (IMPI) rose in the 2nd quarter 2025 by 1.9% compared with the previous quarter and reached 123.3 points (4th quarter 2019 = 100). Compared with the same quarter of the previous year, inflation was 5.0%. These are some of the results from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).