Call for national action to accelerate innovation uptake in Swedish healthcare

A new opinion article published in Dagens Medicin highlights the urgent need to accelerate the adoption of innovations within Sweden’s healthcare system. The publication follows a fully booked seminar held at the Swedish Parliament, hosted by Mats Persson (L) and Ewa Pihl-Krabbe (S).

The opinion piece, titled “Införandet av innovationer i vården måste gå snabbare” (“The adoption of innovations in healthcare must be accelerated”), is co-authored by the two parliamentarians together with Pia Kinhult, Chair of Medicon Village Innovation, and Petter Hartman, CEO of Medicon Village Innovation.

Across Sweden’s 21 regions, numerous initiatives are underway to strengthen healthcare and promote innovation. While these efforts are broadly welcomed, the authors argue that the lack of clear national coordination and limited ability to scale successful initiatives risk confining progress to local pilot projects – preventing innovations from reaching patients at both regional and national levels.

The article calls for a shift from discussion to concrete action, warning that fewer new medicines and healthcare innovations are currently reaching Swedish patients. According to the authors, reversing this trend will require stronger collaboration and more effective pathways for implementation.

Building on this momentum, Medicon Village Innovation and its partners will continue the dialogue at Almedalsveckan. On 24 June, a dedicated Life Science Day will bring together representatives from industry and academia, in collaboration with leading pharmaceutical companies, Lund University and SmiLe Venture Hub, to further explore how Sweden can strengthen the pathway from innovation to patient benefit.