Pharmaceutical industry in Sweden- Statistics & Facts

The value of Sweden’s pharmaceutical market was reported to be around 4.9 billion euros in 2021. That makes it the 15th by size in Europe (including Russia and Turkey). However, Sweden’s contribution to pharmaceutical research and development by spending was ranked ninth among European countries in the same year, totaling some 1.1 billion euros. It shows the country’s disproportionate dedication to research and innovation. In relation to its size, Sweden is generally regarded as a big ‘life science nation’.

The company landscape

Undoubtedly, the best-known Swedish pharmaceutical company is AstraZeneca, lately in focus for the manufacture of one of the most widely used COVID-19 vaccines worldwide. Today the company is, in fact, a British-Swedish global company, with headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. It was formed in 1999 with the merger of Swedish company Astra AB and the British Zeneca Group. The company is focused on the areas of oncology, cardiovascular, and respiratory, but has also made a huge step into the vaccination market. Further examples for Sweden-based biopharmaceutical companies are Recipharm, Swedish Orphan Biovitrum (Sobi), or Karo Pharma. When it comes to pharmaceutical sales in Sweden, the industry is dominated by well-known players like Johnson & Johnson (via Janssen-Cilag) or Bristol-Myers Squibb. Pharmaceutical companies employ over 13 thousand people in Sweden.

Pharmaceutical trade

The Swedish pharmaceutical industry is a net exporter, exporting twice the value of pharmaceutical products compared to imports. The net exporting value in 2022 stood at some 74 billion SEK, around 6.6 billion euros. Germany, Demark, and the U.S. are Sweden’s most important countries of origin for imports, while the U.S., Germany, and China are the most important export destinations.

New products and approvals

For the pharmaceutical industry it is extremely important to have many products in the development pipeline. The clinical trial landscape in Sweden is dominated by commercial sponsors, responsible for around two thirds of trials over the last years. As in many other countries, research on cancer and cardiovascular diseases are the focus areas. These two areas alone make up more than half of clinical trials in Sweden.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jan 10, 2024

Key insights

Pharmaceutical sales in Sweden in 2022
54.3 bn SEK
Pharmaceutical sales in Sweden in 2022 through subsidized prescriptions
37 bn SEK
Sweden's pharmaceutical net export in 2022
73.9 bn SEK
Get more insights

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