Positive signs for Swedish R&D

Private investment in R&D in Sweden is no longer declining, a report has found, but progress in medicine innovation remains slow.

Industry spending on R&D in Sweden has remained stable at about 2.3 per cent of GDP since 2011, a progress report published by Research!Sweden, a health research NGO, has said. Government spending on R&D as a share of GDP increased steadily until 2014, but not enough to compensate for the decline in industry investment.

The progress report urged the government and industry to introduce more measures to evaluate new treatments and technology in healthcare. Sweden ranks 15th, below the EU average, in terms of the proportion of avoidable deaths based on current medical knowledge and technology, the report said.