How medical innovation is changing lives and economies

Last week, I joined an exciting discussion on the future of longevity with Professor Mike Martin from the University of Zurich’s Healthy Longevity Center and Burkhard Varnholt, who added the vital financial perspective. Medical innovation has been a powerful enabler to live longer lives - contributing to more than a third of the increase in global life expectancy between 1990 and 2015. We all agreed: it’s not just about adding years to life, but about ensuring those years are healthy and full of quality. At Roche, this is exactly what drives us. We aim to prevent, stop and wherever possible, cure diseases. Take multiple sclerosis: not long ago, many people faced severe disability within years. Today, more than 90% of patients can still walk unaided a decade later, and three-quarters avoid disease progression. Or HIV/AIDS: in the 1980s, a diagnosis was a death sentence. Today, thanks to innovative medicines and diagnostics, HIV is a manageable chronic condition. That’s the impact of innovation. Of course, innovation comes at a cost. But it is not just an expense. It is an investment that delivers returns far beyond initial costs. Every dollar invested in improving health in high-income countries returns three dollars to the economy. Not hypothetically – directly, by keeping people in the workforce, reducing long-term care needs and unleashing human potential. Looking ahead, advances in AI and data will accelerate progress even further, helping us discover new medicines and bring the next generation of treatments to patients faster. All aligned with our purpose: doing now what patients need next.