When the Research Lab Meets Change Capital

Upcoming event will explore the impact and outlook of private equity within the context of health innovation.

New York, NY (March 6, 2026) – As technological adoption and clinical innovation continue to advance the life sciences, can private equity (PE) play a constructive role in enabling firms within the field to better position themselves for success? Or are the temptations to profit at the expense of the customer too great in these settings?

Healthcare systems in the United States and other Western countries face persistent inefficiencies despite high spending, reflecting structural challenges such as administrative complexity, fragmented care delivery, and uneven adoption and integration of digital technologies. Meanwhile, many emerging nations are seeking to develop modern health care systems while avoiding the misallocation of medical spending common in the West.

While the desirability of change in the health care system is well accepted, how it is to be achieved is up for debate. One especially controversial dimension has been the involvement of private capital firms in healthcare. In theory, PE brings capital and discipline to firms in a manner that should be beneficial to the healthcare industry. But popular accounts and academic studies point out the deeper nuances of these issues.

These topics will be explored further by an expert panel during “When the Research Lab Meets Change Capital: Impact and Outlook of PE in Health Innovation” hosted by The New York Academy of Sciences and The Private Capital Research Institute (PCRI). The free, virtual webinar will begin at 12 p.m. ET on March 26, 2026.

Josh Lerner, PhD, Director of PCRI and Jacob H. Schiff Professor at Harvard Business School, will moderate a three-person panel during the event. Prof. Lerner was recently named recipient of the Constellation Award for his exemplary leadership in driving transformative science for the benefit of society in collaboration with the Academy. He will be formally recognized during the Academy’s Spring Soirée on April 21.

 The panel during the March 26 PCRI event will explore two main issues:

• How advances in information and communication technologies, which have transformed everything from urban transport to payments to navigation, can address the effectiveness of medical delivery, and the role of venture capital in facilitating this transformation.
• The role of private capital in financing the “white spaces” in the delivery of medical services. This includes the areas where consumers are underserved, whether geographic, demographic, or class of care (e.g., primary care).

Panelists include:

• Abrar Mir | Co-founder and Managing Partner, Quadria Capital
• Charles Ruprecht | Principal, GHO Capital
• Kevin Tracey | The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research

Abrar Mir, MPhil, is a co-founder and Managing Partner at Quadria Capital, an independent healthcare-focused private equity firm. With more than two decades of experience in private equity, investment banking, and the healthcare sector, he has led numerous private equity transactions across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Mir is a qualified international finance lawyer and holds an MPhil in International Law from the University of Cambridge.

Charles Ruprecht, a Principal at GHO Capital and board member at Sapio Science, has significant experience in private equity and corporate finance within the healthcare sector. His investment efforts are within the biopharma services and healthcare IT subsectors, with a particular focus on technology-enabled platforms where these two disciplines converge to drive efficiency and innovation across the life sciences ecosystem.

Kevin Tracey, MD, a neurosurgeon and physician-scientist, serves as President and CEO as well as Professor in the Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. His work examines the molecular basis of inflammation and identifying the mechanism by which neurons control the immune system. Dr. Tracey is lauded for discovering the inflammatory reflex, a neural circuit by which the vagus nerve regulates immune responses and inflammation.

This session is the finale in the inaugural four-part series titled “Private Capital and Discovery: Strategic Investing in Scientific Innovation,” presented by The New York Academy of Sciences and PCRI. The series, sponsored by Ropes & Gray, is focused on fostering a broader understanding of the recent scientific and technological trends and their implications for private capital investors. These roundtables emphasize opportunities and challenges associated with marshaling the capital required to translate cutting-edge technologies into marketplace solutions. 

Each roundtable brings together a combination of scientific, investment, and business perspectives on a challenge associated with the commercialization of breakthrough science. These webinars are conducted and covered under Chatham House rule. Proceeding summaries will be made available to attendees after each event.

While the Academy excels in fostering scientific discovery and interdisciplinary collaboration, PCRI focuses on enhancing the understanding and impact of private capital investments. This collaboration allows for a unique intersection where cutting-edge scientific research meets strategic investment insights.

Both non-profit organizations seek to present substantive, fact-based research in a form that maximizes broad accessibility of these ideas and their applicability to the concerns of investors, business leaders, and policymakers, as well as influential intermediaries.

The first three events in the series covered:

• Entrepreneurship in AI
• Quantum Computing in Business and Private Equity
• The Roller Coaster of Climate Tech Investing

Registration for the March 26 event is free and open to all. Reserve your spot today!

About The Private Capital Research Institute

Based at Harvard Business School, the Private Capital Research Institute’s mission is to encourage research about private capital’s potential to be a constructive force to power economic development, innovation, and business transformation.