Bringing together industry, the research community, government and economic diplomacy represents one of Slovenia’s greatest opportunities to strengthen the international position of its biotechnology and pharmaceutical ecosystem. This was the central theme of the meeting we organised on 1 September on the sidelines of the Bled Strategic Forum, for the second consecutive year.
The meeting was jointly organised by SPIRIT Slovenia, the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Bern and Slovenija Biotech Hills, in cooperation with Connect-2. It continued the dialogue launched at last year’s Bled Strategic Forum and developed over the past year through a series of concrete activities.
The meeting brought together 42 representatives of companies, organisations and research institutions. The discussion focused on how Slovenia can better connect its individual success stories and present them internationally as part of a distinctive and competitive biotechnology and pharmaceutical ecosystem.
Iztok Grmek, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Switzerland, shared an international perspective on Slovenia’s strengths and discussed how they could be presented more effectively in one of Europe’s strongest biotechnology environments. Tamara Zajec Balažič, Director of SPIRIT Slovenia, highlighted the importance of systematic support for companies in their internationalisation efforts and of presenting Slovenia jointly in international markets.
The perspective of an international company was presented by Dr Petra Štefanič Anderluh, Country President of Novartis Slovenia, who discussed the strengths of Slovenia’s ecosystem and the opportunities its further development can create for both the economy and society.
Anuša Gaši, Director of Slovenija Biotech Hills, focused on how Slovenia can build something greater from its excellent companies, research teams, investments and individual breakthrough stories – an internationally recognised story of Slovenia as an important biotechnology and pharmaceutical country.
This ability to connect is one of Slovenia’s greatest opportunities. Individual companies and research institutions can be highly successful internationally, but building recognition of Slovenia as an attractive environment for biotechnology and pharmaceutical development requires a shared, long-term approach. This means closer cooperation between industry, science, government and economic diplomacy, as well as a continuous presence in key international markets.
From Our First Joint Presence in Basel to Swiss Biotech Day 2027
The first results of this approach are already visible. Our cooperation with Switzerland, which we began developing systematically in 2025, led to a joint Slovenian presence at Swiss Biotech Day in Basel in May this year, with 14 Slovenian companies taking part. The programme was complemented by visits to major players in the Swiss pharmaceutical and biotechnology ecosystem.
The next step has already been agreed. Slovenija Biotech Hills, SPIRIT Slovenia, the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Bern and Connect-2 will once again join forces to organise a Slovenian delegation to Swiss Biotech Day, from 25 to 28 April 2027.
Our ambition goes beyond participating in one of Europe’s most important meeting points for the biotechnology industry. We want to present Slovenia as a connected ecosystem and create concrete opportunities for companies, research organisations and other stakeholders to develop new business and research partnerships, attract investment and become more deeply integrated into international networks.
At the meeting, we also presented concrete opportunities for joint participation at other major international trade fairs, conferences and business events, an initiative that received strong support from the participants. In the coming year, we therefore plan to organise several joint appearances of the Slovenian biotechnology and pharmaceutical ecosystem in key international markets, strengthening its global visibility while creating new opportunities for our members to build business and research partnerships.
The meeting in Bled reaffirmed a simple but important premise: Slovenia has the knowledge, companies, research capabilities and ambition. If we connect these strengths and present them to the world together, we can turn our size from a limitation into an advantage.