Netherlands named as best base for international pharma companies

International pharma companies may do well to consider setting up shop in the Netherlands, according to data compiled by Mercator by Citco

Taking into account only time efficiencies, the US takes poll position whereas Luxembourg ranks first for its cost effectiveness. When combining these two metrics, however, the Netherlands scores the best.

The country's status as a European financial centre and its historic links to international trade are thought to have created an environment that allows multinational pharmaceutical companies to manage entities there with relative ease.

Using the same metrics, Singapore and Belgium also score highly, unlike Brazil, South Korea and China which have the lowest overall ranking.

The report also confirms that Europe remains the hub for a significant portion of pharmaceutical companies beyond North America, primarily led by eminent life sciences hubs in Switzerland, Germany and France; and India performs a similar role within the APAC region.

Mercator found the majority of the businesses it looked at are organisationally agile with robust business continuity plans in place, as demonstrated by their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Kariem Abdellatif, head of Mercator, warns that insights revealed by this report are "not a recommendation of where pharmaceutical multinationals should base their entities or subsidiaries as that will always be driven by demand and necessity".

Instead, Kariem advises forward-thinking multinational companies should embrace technology platforms that "let them do business seamlessly across borders and jurisdictions”.