In a recent article in Healthcare Business International, Krist Werling, partner and global head of McDermott Will & Schulte’s Health & Life Sciences practice, provides insight into the key trends shaping private equity investment in healthcare and life sciences.

“Investors are gravitating toward high-quality, growth-ready assets with strong management teams and demonstrable scalability, particularly in areas where technology is unlikely to displace the underlying service,” Krist said. With the valuation gap between buyers and sellers narrowing, he added: “We anticipate more sponsor-to-sponsor activity heading into 2026.”

On structure, Krist noted that flexible deal mechanics – including earnouts, rollover equity, and milestone-linked economics – have become standard tools for allocating risk and aligning stakeholder interests. Looking ahead, he emphasized that governance and operational execution will be critical: “Investors are concentrating interest in use cases with measurable operational impact, even as heightened governance and regulatory scrutiny demand thoughtful deployment strategies.”