Objective: There is much controversy about the value of new medications and the substantial spending on R&D associated with new treatments. The current study aimed at evaluating the impact of drug innovation on longevity in three important disease areas using patient-level data. Methods: An analysis of health claims from Quebec's provincial health plan data between 1997 and 2006 was conducted. Elderly patients with continuous health plan coverage, ³ drug prescription per calendar year, and ³ diagnosis for 1) asthma; 2) cancer; or 3) cardiovascular disease (CVD) were selected. Drug vintage, defined as the ingredient's earliest marketed date, was drawn from Health Canada Drug Product Database. A multivariate analysis was conducted to estimate the impact of drug vintage on patients' probability of dying using time-varying Cox proportional hazard model. The covariates used for adjustment in the regression model were: demographics characteristics, guaranteed income supplement (GIS) status, medical resources utilization, concomitant drug utilization, and comorbidities. Results: A total of 6912, 12,341, and 29,394 elderly subjects formed the asthma, cancer, and CVD study populations, respectively, of which 1220 (18%), 3479 (28%), and 6043 (21%) died during the observation period. Overall, mean age was 68 years; 49% of subjects were women. After controlling for confounding factors, the use of recent medications (i.e. Post-1990 ingredients) was consistently associated with a significant risk reduction of mortality (hazard ratios <1.0, p<0.0001 for all disease areas), relative to older ingredients, suggesting that recent drug innovation had a significant beneficial impact on longevity in patients with asthma, cancer, or CVD. Other covariates associated with an increased risk of mortality included age, gender, GIS beneficiaries, hospitalization, and number of comorbidities. Conclusion: This analysis showed that drug innovation, in particular medications launched after 1990, had a significant beneficial impact on longevity of elderly patients in three important disease areas.