Key facts
Swissmedic is the Swiss supervisory and licensing authority for medicines and medical devices (therapeutic products). Its influence on pharmaceutical companies is considerable. In view of the financial stakes involved, there is a real risk of conflicts of interest. In order to prevent them and to guarantee Swissmedic’s independence, the changes to the law in 2019 strengthened the requirements for integrity and transparency concerning conflicts of interest. However, these changes did not introduce a standardised compliance management system. Both Parliament and the Federal Council preferred to maintain a decentralised management system based on Codes of Conduct for employees and members of the Management Board, commissioned experts and the Agency Council. The role of the Agency Council was strengthened and now covers the three Codes of Conduct.