Looking for a place to innovate or conduct research?
This is where startups, life science industry giants, research groups and everything in between come together to push the boundaries of the life sciences.
What makes our innovation district the premier life sciences hub in Switzerland?
Our innovation district around the Main Campus sits in the Basel Area, a leading biotech hub and internationally recognized hotspot for life sciences innovation. It’s Switzerland’s largest life sciences hub.
The district brings together more than 4,000 innovators in life science and high tech from over 70 organizations, including Johnson & Johnson and the BIIE. Several of Europe’s top biotech startups, as profiled by Labiotech, call the Main Campus home.
By 2030, three additional lab and office buildings will be completed. The district will then offer space for up to 100 companies and 10,000 people, all within walking distance.
What are innovation districts and why are they important?
Innovation goes hand in hand with collaboration. The more people who can work together on a challenge, the higher the chance to solve it and to find better solutions.
The space in which we work shapes how we collaborate. A cubicle in an isolated office building doesn’t create many new ideas. You rarely meet people outside your own team, let alone other companies or research institutes.
Integrated spaces change that. When companies, startups, academia and public institutions share the same area, it’s easier to find the right partners at the right time.
Innovation districts are built for this. They’re compact urban areas where organizations from the same or related industries are co-located. The environment encourages spontaneous exchanges, new partnerships and faster progress.
Four key reasons to set up in an innovation district like Main Campus:
Futureproof spaces
Scale at the speed of innovation with fully fitted labs and offices that flex with your ideas. Start small, grow fast, and stay in the same district.
Curated community
Make life-changing connections with hand-picked peers, investors and pharma neighbors. Meet them in shared labs, at our flagship event THE MAGNET, or over a casual community breakfast.
Location with built-in credibility
Create your future in Switzerland’s largest life sciences park, in the nation’s most sustainable office building, at the region’s gateway to industrial innovation or directly on the Novartis Campus. Your address signals quality and trust from day one.
Partner network
Shortcut your journey with access to support, mentors, accelerators and services. Tap into major ecosystem players and the wider Switzerland Innovation network.
Discover the Innovation District
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Main Campus HQ
Are you seeking a contemporary workplace that aligns with your specific requirements? We offer fully equipped or tailor-made offices, ready-to-use coworking spaces, as well as shared or highly specialized private labs. Secure your workspace and dive into innovation instantly, no setup needed.
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All
The laboratories and office building that combines sustainability and flexibility. Offices and laboratories from 300 m², available in 2026.
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Hortus
Become part of the most sustainable office building in Switzerland! Coworking, office and fully customizable spaces available. Move-in June 2025!
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Hope
House of Partnership & Engagement (HOPE). A place for exchange and creative collaboration. Offices and commercial spaces from 130 m², move-in 2027.
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Indorsia
Idorsia is a high-potential biopharmaceutical company, specialized in the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative small molecules, with the aim of transforming the horizon of therapeutic options.
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Skan
SKAN is the global leader in isolators, cleanroom equipment, and decontamination systems for aseptic biopharmaceutical production. The company specializes in designing process isolators for aseptic filling, complemented by consultancy, support services and consumables for cleanrooms and labs.
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Johnson & Johnson
The J&J Campus Basel links J&J Innovative Medicine and MedTech to Europe’s largest life science ecosystems in the Basel region. Our diverse workforce of international experts and young talents covers the entire business lifecycle in medicines and technologies: from development to market, addressing rare and common diseases.
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Skan
SKAN is the global leader in isolators, cleanroom equipment, and decontamination systems for aseptic biopharmaceutical production. The company specializes in designing process isolators for aseptic filling, complemented by consultancy, support services and consumables for cleanrooms and labs.
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Swiss TPH
The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) is a world-renowned institute in the field of global health with a special focus on low- and middle-income countries.
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Innovation Office Uni Basel
Since 2021, the university’s innovation initiative has been housed in the Innovation Garage. This space offers workspaces for the innovation team and areas for events, workshops, and showcasing projects. The team collaborates with industry, science, and startups to tackle issues under the “Pupella” brand.
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Bright Peak
Bright Peak Therapeutics, based in Basel and San Diego, uses chemical synthesis, protein engineering and recombinant technology to develop multifunctional immunotherapies for major diseases including cancer. Spun out of ETHZ in 2017, they will start trials of a PD1-IL18 conjugate (BPT567) in 2024.
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Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering
The Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering (BIIE) is a non-profit focused on advanced immunological research to develop solutions for disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Committed to global child and adolescent health, BIIE aims to enhance lives through immune engineering innovations.
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Phoenix Technologies
Phoenix Technologies aims to establish Sovereign AI and Cloud Solutions, driving digital transformation, catalyzing innovation, and fortifying resilience for organizations over the next generations.
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Arcondis
Arcondis is a global professional services company exclusively focused on the life sciences and healthcare sector. Owned by a Foundation and committed to healthcare improvement, we accelerate value creation for our clients in R&D, Manufacturing & Supply Chain, Marketing, Sales & Services, to ultimately benefit patients.
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Basilea
Basilea is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2000. We are committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative drugs to meet the needs of patients with severe bacterial or fungal infections.
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Abbott
Abbott aims to improve lives with life-changing health technologies. From reducing fingerstick pain for diabetes to real-time heart monitoring, easing chronic pain, ensuring safe blood donations, and more, they commit to helping people live their best life.
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Department of Biomedical Engineering (DBE)
At the Department of Biomedical Engineering (DBE) at the University of Basel, researchers and clinicians turn basic science and engineering into medical innovations. The DBE offers high-quality education and capacity building for academics, clinicians, and industry partners, as well as specialized services through four Core Facilities. At the Department of Biomedical Engineering (DBE) at the University of Basel, researchers and clinicians turn basic science and engineering into medical innovations. The DBE offers high-quality education and capacity building for academics, clinicians, and industry partners.
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T3Pharma
The vision of T3 Pharmaceuticals is to improve the lives of cancer patients with highly innovative treatments. Despite significant advances of classical therapies, there remains a high need for novel and innovative medicines to treat cancer. T3 Pharmaceuticals is dedicated to filling this gap by developing highly specific and efficient treatments using live bacteria.
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ICT SCOUTS
ICT Scouts close the gap between up-and-coming tech talent and the innovation and expertise needs of companies. They take a deep dive into the Swiss educational landscape to identify young people who show a high affinity for technology and innovation.
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FOOD
Discover neighborhood take-out and dine-in options
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Belo Café
We cook fresh food on site, work with regional suppliers and give priority to ecologically sound and fairly traded food when purchasing. We want to inspire you with a committed, personal service and surprise you again and again. Your well-being is our motivation.
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Bio Bistro
Space to slow down and enjoy. Are you looking for a healthy, organic and enjoyable lunch? Welcome to the Bio Bistro am Bachgraben. People with and without disabilities work hand in hand. A vegetarian menu and a daily special are part of our standard offer. We also offer a hearty “Sunday roast” menu on Wednesdays and a vegan menu on Fridays. The menu always includes changing variations of soups, sandwiches, a dessert of the day, salads, cakes, pastries and home-baked Basler bread.
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Food trucks
Available food truck options every Thursday at the Main Campus HQ garden and in front of SKAN (every day during lunch time).
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«L’Angolo»
«L’Angolo» combines a café, bar and restaurant in a harmonious concept. In addition, our regulars’ table «Tavolone», flexible rooms for business and private occasions as well as for cultural and sporting events and constantly changing food trucks.
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Restaurant ALL
More information will follow.
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YAYE!
YAYE! restaurant @ Main Campus offers a balanced lunch experience every day, featuring meat, fish, or vegetarian options. YAYE! is operated by ZFV-Unternehmungen
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Work-Life Balance
Onsite fitness centers, nearby schools, and convenient childcare options
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CORPO
CORPO, powered by Balboa, is the sports club at HORTUS. CORPO offers various training styles: Strength, High Intensity/Cardio, Yoga, Pilates, Mobility, Running – 60 minutes Schedule: Tuesday & Thursday 6.30 a.m. / Monday – Friday 12.00 p.m.
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Van der Merwe Center
The Van der Merwe Center is a modern health and leisure center that focuses on training, games and fun. In its exclusive health area, the Health Club, we focus on innovative approaches to promote prevention.
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Public pool
The Bachgraben garden pool has four pools for swimming and splashing around. It also offers space to play and relax.
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SIS Swiss International School Basel-Allschwil
SIS Basel-Allschwil opened its doors this summer 2024. Since the 2024/25 school year, they have been offering bilingual education at kindergarten and primary school level at the new school site.
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Transportation & Parking
Convenient access to the Main Campus by public transit, bike, or car
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Bus stop Bachgraben
Monday to Saturday, every 30 minutes, until midnight. Here it is: The 4-hour extension of the operating hours of bus line “B 48”: Monday to Saturday, every 30 minutes, until midnight. You can now easily get back to the SBB with B 48 – even if it’s very late in the evening.
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Bus Stop Kreuzstrasse
Next to the Swiss TPH. Monday to Saturday, every 30 minutes, until midnight. Here it is: The 4-hour extension of the operating hours of bus line “B 48”: Monday to Saturday, every 30 minutes, until midnight. You can now easily get back to the SBB with B 48 – even if it’s very late in the evening.
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Bus Stop Wänglismatten
Monday to Saturday, every 30 minutes, until midnight. Here it is: The 4-hour extension of the operating hours of bus line “B 48”: Monday to Saturday, every 30 minutes, until midnight. You can now easily get back to the SBB with B 48 – even if it’s very late in the evening.
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Bike Underground Parking
Accessible with a badge.
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VELOSPOT Kreuzstrasse
RENT A BIKE This is how it works: Go to www.velospot.info or install the Velospot app and create a user account. Get a bike from a Velospot station. Bring the bike to any Velospot station. Repeat 😉
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VELOSPOT Wänglismatten
RENT A BIKE This is how it works: Go to www.velospot.info or install the Velospot app and create a user account. Get a bike from a Velospot station. Bring the bike to any Velospot station. Repeat 😉
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Parking Ost
Unlimited parking, e-charging station for electric cars.
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Parking Bachgraben
Parking fees 1/2 hour free 1 hour CHF 1.50 each additional hour CHF 1.50 Basel-Stadt Sports Office, information +41 61 481 46 25
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Amenities
Tailored facilities for daily business and large-scale meetings & conferences
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Innovation Lounge
Positioned directly next to the reception, it is a place of arrival and inspiration. Here, members and partners showcase their products and services to entrepreneurs and innovators.
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Welcome desk Main Campus
Visit us at Main Campus – today’s meeting point for 1,200+ biotech and healthtech trailblazers.
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MC3 Main Campus Convention Center
In addition to conference rooms and meeting rooms in various sizes, MC3 also offers a large auditorium with a height of 8 meters and a fascinating tapestry by Renée Levi. Depending on the size of the rooms, they can be booked by the hour, half-day or day. The rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and attractively furnished with an interior design by Herzog & de Meuron.
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The Meeting Center at HORTUS
The Meeting Center at HORTUS offers rooms of different sizes for concentrated work, focused meetings and informal, creative exchanges. The rooms are furnished, equipped with modern technology and can be booked by the hour or day. A lounge invites you to linger or wait, coffee and much more can be ordered from the Rose Cafe or the Hortus Kitchen on request.
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Holiday Inn Express & Suites Basel Allschwil
Located just 15 mins away by bus or car from the centre of Basel and only 15 mins away from Euroairport Basel. If you are not a guest of the hotel you can still visit: The Bar from 11 am to 3 am. Or have a breakfast.
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Shopping
Grosseries, conveneince stores and pharmacies
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Aldi Suisse, Müller Drogeriemarkt
Convenience stores nearby
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TopPharm Apotheke Bachgraben Pharmacy
Pharmacy, opening hours from 08:30 am-18:30 pm.
Get acquainted with Switzerland’s premier innovation district
The Basel Area, home to this innovation district, brings together global pharma leaders like Roche and Novartis with more than 800 life science companies and over 1 000 research groups. New startups join the ecosystem every day and the region’s universities supply a steady stream of highly skilled talent.
Supportive local and national governments create entrepreneurship-friendly conditions and promote innovation. The location itself offers easy access to the Swiss, French and German markets.
At the heart of the region is the innovation district around the Main Campus. It brings together everything an established life sciences company needs to drive innovation, including:
- Diverse companies: industry leaders, established SMEs and innovative startups pushing the boundaries of life-sciences
- Space for all sizes: flexible workspace options whether you’re on your own, a team of ten or a thousand
- Different spaces for different needs: offices, private and shared labs, collaboration zones, innovation hubs, and convention centers
- Everyday amenities: restaurants; public transport; a bilingual school; daycare; and a gym, public pools and sports grounds that support a healthy work-life balance
- Nation-wide network: Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area connects you across Switzerland through its parent organization, Switzerland Innovation.
Meet your new neighbors at Main Campus
Innovative spaces aren’t only about what is here, but about who is here.
On and around the Main Campus, you share space with industry players comprising the full innovation chain of life sciences. Researchers discover new technologies. Accelerators support new ventures. Startups develop new solutions. SMEs provide key services. Larger companies scale innovation. IP experts help new entrepreneurs get started.
Whatever you need, a neighbor probably has it.
You’re part of an actively managed, vibrant community with curated events. These range from flagship events like THE MAGNET with top speakers to regular community breakfasts and after-hour events that make it easy to meet new people.
If you’re an established life sciences company…
Work alongside organizations that already use the district as a strategic base. They bring global reach, experience and infrastructure.
Johnson & Johnson
This global leader in pharmaceuticals and medical devices recently established its innovation hub on Main Campus. It acts as an extension of J&J Innovation based at the London Innovation Center.
CSEM
CSEM develops advanced technologies in precision manufacturing, digitalization, ultra-low-power electronics, optics, AI and sustainable energy. It transfers these technologies to industry to strengthen the economy.
Without the local proximity [to Engimmune], our joint project wouldn’t have happened this fast and at this quality. For CSEM, being at Main Campus already leads to direct collaborations [with startups] and the development of partnerships.
Felix Kurth, Group Leader Biosystems Engineering, CSEM
Abbott
Abbott operates its global headquarters for generic pharmaceuticals here.
Hamilton
Hamilton Medical, a family-owned global leader in intensive care ventilation, develops applications on various robotic platforms in a laboratory on Main Campus, where these applications can be tested biologically.
SKAN
The SKAN Group has been a leader in cleanroom technology for over 50 years. It delivers advanced manufacturing solutions to the global pharmaceutical industry and chose Allschwil for its headquarters because of the labor market advantages of the tri-border region.
Idorsia
Idorsia focuses on the discovery and commercialization of innovative small molecules and aims to transform therapeutic options in healthcare.
Arcondis
Arcondis is a global consulting firm focused on healthcare and life sciences. It has offices in North America, APAC and across Europe, but chose Main Campus as its headquarters.
If you’re building or scaling a startup…
Tap into fresh ideas and groundbreaking biotech by working where many of Europe’s top startups are based. When Europe’s top biotech startups are profiled, more and more of them can be found at Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area – Main Campus.
Engimmune
Engimmune Therapeutics is an ETH Zürich spin-off. It develops T-cell receptor therapies to advance precision oncology from its base at Main Campus.
The fact that motivated us to collaborate [with CSEM] in addition to the obvious technological synergies, was proximity. We are here in the same location at Main Campus HQ. We had some previous interactions in the past, but our joint project was born out of our proximity, interaction and discussion.
Rodrigo Vazquez-Lombardi, Co-founder and CSO, Engimmune Therapeutics
Basilea
Basilea is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for severe bacterial and fungal infections. On Main Campus, it created its open-space “Basilea Village” to communicate faster and work more closely together.
T3 Pharmaceuticals
T3 Pharmaceuticals develops bacterial-based therapies to treat cancer and address the high need for new oncology treatments. After its acquisition by Boehringer Ingelheim in 2023 for up to CHF 450 million, it needed additional lab space and know-how to move to the next phase.
There is just a new skill set that is needed within the company to approach those next steps — scaling from an academic spin-out toward clinical development and commercial readiness. For us, it was very helpful coming from academia to be able to tap into an ecosystem where that know-how was present.
Dr. Simon Ittig, CEO, T3 Pharma
Bright Peak
Bright Peak uses protein engineering to develop multifunctional immunotherapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. It raised $90 million in its Series C financing round led by Johnson & Johnson.
Alentis
Alentis focuses on breakthrough treatments for fibrotic diseases and cancers. It develops monoclonal antibodies targeting claudin-1 to disrupt disease progression.
If you’re a research institute or academic partner…
Connect directly to applied projects, clinical development and industry.
University of Basel
The university’s department of biomedical engineering offers technologies such as micro- and nanotomography, 3D-printing labs and motion analysis services. These drive innovation in medical engineering.
The DBE — a quick tour
The DBE also runs four of the department of medicine’s core facilities on Main Campus: the 3D-print lab, CADENCE (clinical biomechanics and ergonomics engineering), microcalorimetry, and micro- and nanotomography.
Swiss TPH
The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) employs about 700 people at its headquarters at Main Campus. It focuses on improving health worldwide, especially for people in low- and middle-income countries.
Botnar Institute of Immune Engineering (BIIE)
The BIIE will move into Main Campus in 2027. It will focus on innovative immune engineering research and has already started recruiting researchers.
If you provide services or platforms…
The district gives you direct access to customers, partners and pilot projects.
Innovation Garage
Innovation Garage is the home of the University of Basel’s innovation initiative. It gives future startups the tools they need to succeed with entrepreneurship training, mentoring and peer-to-peer learning.
Switzerland Innovation
Switzerland Innovation built Main Campus to connect innovative minds in academia, industry and startups. It continues to expand the site, support residents and link them to the innovation district and the wider Basel Area ecosystem.
ICT Scouts
ICT Scouts identifies and nurtures young talent in information and communication technology. It helps close the gap between aspiring talent and companies that need digital skills.
DBE core facilities
The DBE runs four core facilities of the department of medicine on Main Campus: 3D-print lab, CADENCE, microcalorimetry, and micro- and nanotomography.
Meet our Main Campus residents
Europe’s leading biotech venture builder is also here: BaseLaunch
BaseLaunch builds the next generation of biotech ventures. It partners with scientists and entrepreneurs to launch and grow companies that develop cutting-edge therapeutics.
Its portfolio has raised over US$ 800 million in financing, with an average first VC round of more than $28 million per company.
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BD sets up at HORTUS to boost healthcare innovation
BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a global medical technology leader, has opened a new base at the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area – Main Campus in Basel/Allschwil.
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Success Story
Where next-gen biotech scales: T3 Pharma’s microcosm from startup to global impact
In this interview with Dr. Simon Ittig, CEO of T3 Pharma, we explore how they moved from academia to entrepreneurship, scaled within Basel’s vibrant biotech hub, and became part of Boehringer Ingelheim’s CHF 450 million acquisition, all while shaping the next generation of cancer care.