Founded in 1943 as a research funding institution, the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMS) acts nowadays as a bridge builder between science and society. It is financially supported by the federal government and collaborates with private foundations.

Today, with its two main programmes, «Medicine and Society» and «Medical Science and Practice», the activity of the SAMS is concentrated on the following:

•     Promotion of the professional training of the coming generation of scientists, especially in clinical research;
•   Support of a high quality of scientific culture in biomedical and clinical research;
•     The connection between scientific medicine and medical practice;
•     Clarification of ethical questions in connection with medical developments and their effects on society;
•     Comprehensive reflection on the future of medicine;
•     Engagement in university, scientific and education politics, combined with expert and advisory activity for the attention of politicians and authorities.

All these activities concern primarily the Swiss environment, but they are also strongly oriented towards international developments. These international connections are maintained through membership of various international organisations and the participation of members of the SAMS at international meetings and congresses in the fields of biomedical ethics and the future of medicine.