10 Innovations That Can Improve Global Health by 2040

1. Omics and Molecular Technologies

These technologies — key components of the Bio Revolution — are therapeutics or diagnostics that harness the various types of molecules within cells (such as DNA, RNA, and proteins). Some omics and molecular technologies (for instance, genome editing) engineer these intracellular components or analyze them (such as proteomics and transcriptomics).

2. Next-generation Pharmaceuticals

Newer iterations of traditional chemical compounds (small molecules) and classes of molecules could be used as medicinal drugs, possibly with multiple and concurrent target structures.

3. Cellular Therapy and Regenerative Medicine

Cellular therapy is a biological product, derived from living cells, used for therapeutic purposes to replace or repair damaged cells or tissues. Regenerative medicine has the power to restore diseased or injured tissues and organs, potentially decreasing reliance on transplantation.

4. Innovative Vaccines

Vaccines stimulate the immune system to respond to and destroy a bacterium or virus. Historically, they have eradicated or controlled the spread of infectious diseases around the world. In the future, vaccines may target noncommunicable diseases, such as cancer.

5. Advanced Surgical Procedures

These include treating injuries or disorders of the body with minimally invasive incisions or small instruments (including robotic surgery), as well as any technique that improves surgery-related processes outside the operating room.

6. Connected and Cognitive Devices

Portable, wearable, ingestible, or implantable devices can monitor health and fitness information, engage patients and their communities of caregivers, and deliver self-regulated therapies autonomously.

7. Electroceuticals

Small therapeutic agents can target the neural circuits of organs. Such therapies map neural circuitry with neural impulses (administered by an implantable device) delivered to these specific targets.

8. Robotics and Prosthetics

A wide variety of programmable, self-controlled devices consisting of electronic, electrical, or mechanical units and of artificial substitutes or replacements for body parts are now under development.

9. Digital Therapeutics

These preventive and therapeutic evidence-based interventions, for a broad spectrum of physical, mental, and behavioural conditions, are controlled by software.

10. Tech-enabled Care Delivery

These ways to deliver care incorporate new and larger data sets, use new analytics capabilities to generate insights, and help providers apply them to patients to improve the outcome, experience, and efficiency of care.