Are we overlooking the true value of innovation?

Medical innovation has changed what is possible in healthcare. Over the past few decades, advances in diagnostics, medicines, and care delivery have helped people live longer, recover faster, and manage complex diseases with greater independence. Yet, in many countries, this progress now sits uncomfortably alongside growing pressures: ageing populations, rising chronic disease, stretched budgets, and strained capacity of heavily burdened health systems. As demands on these  systems grow, we need to ask not just what does innovation cost, but what it’s worth.

These pressures are not abstract. More people are living longer, but also with long-term conditions that require sustained support. When health systems fall short, people miss out - on early treatment, on staying independent, on living the lives they want.  Many are often unable to work, care for others, or participate fully in society. Families face growing care responsibilities. Public systems absorb the cost.

Health innovation offers real solutions - but only when systems adopt it. With multiple sclerosis (MS), for example, we’ve seen how early and effective treatment can delay disability progression, not just relapses. This is critical for preserving the physical and mental abilities of people with MS in order to minimise the impact of the disease on their daily lives and help maintain their independence as long as possible. These are meaningful individual outcomes that ripple outward into society and the economy - yet they’re often overlooked in how value is assessed.

A person diagnosed with MS in their 30s may experience mobility issues, cognitive fatigue, and other symptoms that threaten their ability to stay in the workforce or live independently. But access to the right therapy early in the disease course can change that trajectory. Fewer relapses and reduced disability mean that people can continue working, parenting, and contributing in ways that are often invisible when assessing only the clinical or health benefits of a medicine.

That’s where the power of systems thinking comes in. When innovation keeps someone healthier, the benefits cascade: enabling them to remain  in the workforce, reducing or eliminating the need for long-term care, reducing pressure on carers, lowering demand for social care, easing hospital capacity, and helping employers retain experienced staff. Families stay more stable, services run more efficiently, and public budgets stretch further.

The value is measurable. Research from the WifOR Institute estimates that Roche’s medicine for MS contributed $6 billion in economic value to the world’s largest economies between1 2017 and 2023. That number is expected to rise to nearly $27 billion by 2032. Crucially, this return is driven by early diagnosis and timely access to treatment.

Despite this, many systems continue to base decisions about new treatments on narrow evaluations, which often focus on point-in-time evaluations. In some cases, assessments still focus largely on direct clinical outcomes and immediate budget impact, without capturing broader system savings or long-term economic benefits. These methods don’t always account for improvements in quality of life, reduced caregiver burden, or continued participation in unpaid roles that are essential to economic growth.

We see similar patterns in other disease areas. Take HER2-positive breast cancer, where early diagnosis and access to targeted therapy significantly improve outcomes. In 2023 alone, treatment of HER2+ breast cancer with Roche’s medicines generated $1.3 billion in economic and social value across ten major economies. Over 70% of that came from early-stage treatment.

These examples show what is possible when innovation is adopted at the right time. But when outdated frameworks or regulatory bottlenecks delay access, those benefits are harder to realise. Patients miss critical windows for early intervention. Systems miss opportunities to reduce long-term burden. And the economic return of innovation is never fully captured.

This matters more than ever, as governments face difficult fiscal decisions. Health budgets are under pressure. The temptation to focus on short-term savings is understandable. But the evidence suggests that strategic investment in innovation and prevention yields massive short and long-term gains. McKinsey estimates that by 2040, such investment could save 60 million lives and add $12 trillion to global GDP - equivalent to around 8% of today’s global economy. 

To unlock that value, we need to evolve how we define and measure it. Health systems around the world already invest heavily in care, infrastructure, and innovation - but we can do more with what we have. That means making smarter decisions about where and when to act: investing earlier, adopting technologies that reduce strain on services, and supporting interventions that improve outcomes over time.

It also means using healthcare innovation not just as a concept to recognise, but as an enabler of better decision-making. By integrating broader economic and social outcomes into health technology assessments - and removing policy and structural barriers - we can ensure that innovation reaches patients sooner and delivers impact across the system.

The example of MS is a reminder that the return on innovation often extends far beyond clinical endpoints. When someone avoids progression, they stay connected to their families, their jobs, and their communities. That might mean a parent still able to take their child to school, or a partner able to keep working and contributing to their household. This is when the real value of innovation becomes visible.

When someone avoids progression, they stay connected to their families, their jobs, and their communities. 

So the question for policymakers and system leaders is no longer whether we can afford to support innovation - but whether we can afford not to. What’s it worth?