Patient Square Capital Acquires Premier Inc. for $2.6 Billion

Reuters reports that investment firm Patient Square Capital has agreed to acquire healthcare service provider Premier Inc. for approximately $2.6 billion. The acquisition will be carried out by a Patient Square Capital affiliate, which will pay $28.25 in cash per Premier share. This represents a 9.7% premium over Premier's previous closing stock price. Premier, a company that helps hospitals and health systems enhance patient care and reduce costs through coordinated procurement of equipment and supplies, saw its shares increase by 8.4% in premarket trading following the announcement. The transaction is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2026. This acquisition aligns with a growing trend in the healthcare and research sectors to prioritize patient-centered evaluation, as noted by Forbes. There is an increasing recognition of the value of patients' perspectives in assessing treatment outcomes, a departure from historical clinical trial models that focused on clinical endpoints at the expense of patients' lived experiences. These experiences include daily functioning, comfort, and emotional well-being. This previous emphasis often resulted in patients feeling excluded from their treatment decisions, potentially affecting their participation in clinical trials. The industry is now embracing electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) to address this disconnect. By leveraging technology such as smartphones and tablets, ePRO enables patients to provide real-time feedback from their homes, moving beyond reliance on clinic visits alone. Forbes emphasizes that capturing these insights is becoming a fundamental aspect of patient-centered research. ePRO is expected to improve data quality, trial efficiency, and inclusivity for a substantial number of trial participants through tools like digital diaries and mobile surveys, ultimately leading to enhanced trial results.