Health industry

The so-called health industry is a field of activity destined to gain increasing importance in the future. This sector features a tradition of the local spa centres across the territory with a consequent influx of tourism, while new areas of activity have grown in the sector with success, thus contributing to the quality of lifestyle.

The production of orthopaedic implants in the Bologna area and the biomedical district in the province of Modena are excellent examples. The pole developing in the area of Mirandola in fact boasts around seventy companies, employing 3,600, with a turnover of over 500 million euro, and an export share higher than 60%.

The pharmaceutical industry is also strong and undergoing a high level of growth, particularly in exports, up 206% between 2000 and 2006 (Source: Coeweb-Istat). Giants of the calibre of Alfa Wassermann have been investing in Emilia-Romagna for decades.

The diamond tip of the system is the university hospital network. The region hosts some of the most state-of-the-art transplant centres in Italy, the heart transplant centre of the Emilia-Romagna capital is in second place in Italy.

The network of innovation centres is also cutting edge, providing support for research in companies and representing a solid assistance for investors in the biomedical and pharmaceutical sectors.

Health industry. Number employed in the biomedical sub-cluster (source: Istat-Asia, 2006).