Premier to Honor Eight Healthcare Suppliers at 2026 Breakthroughs Conference for Advancing Patient Care Through Innovation
Innovation continues to play a central role in the evolution of modern healthcare, helping providers improve diagnosis, treatment, patient safety, operational efficiency and access to care. As healthcare organizations face growing demands to deliver better outcomes while managing costs and resource constraints, new technologies and medical products are increasingly important to the transformation of patient care.
At its 15th annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition, scheduled for Oct. 6, 2026, Premier will recognize healthcare suppliers whose technologies are contributing to meaningful advances across a wide range of clinical and operational areas. The event’s Innovation Celebration will highlight innovative products and technologies selected for their potential to address important challenges facing patients, clinicians and healthcare organizations.
The honorees are selected through a formal review process involving a national committee of clinicians, physicians and supply chain experts. Committee members evaluate submitted innovations and score the technologies according to established criteria designed to identify products that demonstrate meaningful contributions to healthcare.
This year’s Innovation Celebration will recognize Cordis, Germitec, HemoSonics, Kedrion Biopharma Inc., NXC Imaging, Canon Group, Quanta Dialysis Technologies and Roche Diagnostics for innovations spanning interventional cardiology, medical-device disinfection, maternal health, immunology, breast imaging, dialysis and neurological diagnostics.
Breakthroughs Conference Brings Healthcare Leaders Together
Premier’s Breakthroughs Conference has become an important gathering point for healthcare providers, suppliers and life sciences organizations. The 2026 event is expected to bring together healthcare leaders representing more than 400 hospitals and health systems, along with more than 600 healthcare suppliers.
The conference provides participants with opportunities to learn about emerging healthcare technologies, exchange ideas with peers and engage with industry leaders. Through keynote presentations, peer-to-peer educational sessions, networking opportunities and exhibitions, Breakthroughs creates an environment where healthcare organizations can explore solutions to clinical, financial and operational challenges.
Breakthroughs 26 will be held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The Innovation Celebration will serve as one of the conference’s key opportunities to showcase technologies that are designed to improve the delivery of care.
The products being recognized this year address different areas of healthcare but share a common objective: using innovation to support clinicians, improve patient experiences and help health systems operate more effectively.
Cordis Advances Treatment for Coronary In-Stent Restenosis
Among this year’s honorees is Cordis, recognized for its SELUTION SLR™ Drug-Eluting Balloon (DEB).
Coronary in-stent restenosis, or ISR, can occur when an artery narrows again after a previous stent procedure. Treating ISR can be challenging because placing another permanent implant may increase the amount of metal left inside the vessel and potentially affect future treatment options.
SELUTION SLR DEB offers an alternative approach. According to the company, it is the first sirolimus-based drug-eluting balloon approved in the United States for treating coronary ISR.
The technology delivers the antiproliferative drug sirolimus to the target lesion without leaving an additional permanent implant behind. The device uses a proprietary phospholipid blend coating combined with MicroReservoir technology, which is designed to retain and release sirolimus at the treatment site for as long as 90 days.
The device was evaluated in the SELUTION4ISR IDE trial, a randomized clinical study comparing the technology with contemporary standard-of-care treatment for coronary ISR. At 12 months, the trial demonstrated non-inferiority to standard-of-care treatment.
The recognition highlights the continuing development of interventional technologies intended to give physicians additional options when managing complex coronary disease.
Germitec Brings Chemical-Free Disinfection Technology to Ultrasound Care
Healthcare-associated infection prevention remains an important priority for hospitals and outpatient facilities, particularly when medical equipment is used repeatedly between procedures.
Germitec is being recognized for Chronos®, a UV-C High-Level Disinfection device designed for compatible ultrasound probes.
The company describes Chronos, powered by Yuvee®, as the first and only UV-C HLD device to receive FDA marketing authorization through a De Novo grant. The system uses ultraviolet-C technology to provide a chemical-free disinfection cycle of approximately 90 seconds for compatible ultrasound probes.
Reducing the time required to disinfect equipment can have implications for clinical workflow. Faster turnaround may allow healthcare teams to prepare equipment for subsequent procedures more efficiently, potentially supporting greater patient throughput.
Another feature of the system is its elimination of chemical disinfectants and related consumables. For health systems managing multiple departments and facilities, reducing recurring expenditures on disinfection supplies may provide operational and financial benefits.
Germitec also highlights sustainability as part of the Chronos offering. The company supports a landfill-free recycling program for aging chemical-based devices and provides an all-inclusive five-year warranty.
The recognition reflects growing interest in healthcare technologies that combine infection-control requirements with workflow efficiency, cost management and environmental considerations.
HemoSonics Supports Real-Time Coagulation Assessment in Obstetric Care
Maternal health is another area represented among this year’s Innovation Celebration honorees.
HemoSonics is being recognized for the Quantra® System with QStat® Cartridge, which provides viscoelastic testing for coagulation assessment.
The Quantra System with QStat Cartridge is described as the first and only viscoelastic testing system with an FDA-cleared indication for peripartum obstetric procedures.
During childbirth, clinicians may need to make rapid decisions when bleeding or coagulation abnormalities occur. Conventional laboratory testing may not always provide the speed required for immediate clinical decision-making. Point-of-care coagulation testing can provide care teams with information closer to the time when treatment decisions are being made.
The Quantra System is designed to provide rapid coagulation results at the point of care, giving obstetric teams real-time information that can help guide their response.
The technology’s recognition at Breakthroughs highlights the importance of innovations designed specifically for maternal care and the need for tools that can support clinicians during time-sensitive situations.
Kedrion Biopharma Introduces Next-Generation IVIG Therapy
Kedrion Biopharma Inc. is being honored for QIVIGY®, an intravenous immune globulin medication developed for adults with primary immunodeficiency.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved QIVIGY in September 2025 for the treatment of adults with primary immunodeficiency. The approval represented an important milestone for Kedrion following more than a decade of development.
QIVIGY is described as the company’s first end-to-end IVIG product to be fully manufactured, commercialized and distributed by Kedrion.
Intravenous immune globulin is an important therapy for people with certain immune deficiencies. By introducing a next-generation IVIG product, Kedrion is seeking to address the needs of patients and healthcare organizations involved in long-term immunoglobulin therapy.
The company’s recognition at Breakthroughs illustrates how pharmaceutical innovation can extend beyond the development of a therapy itself to encompass manufacturing, commercialization and distribution.
For hospitals and healthcare providers, dependable access to specialized therapies can be an important consideration in supporting continuity of care for patients with chronic conditions.
NXC Imaging and Canon Group Advance Breast Imaging
Breast imaging is another area represented in the 2026 Innovation Celebration through NXC Imaging, part of Canon Group.
The company is being recognized for its QTI Breast Acoustic CT™ Scanner, a technology designed to provide high-resolution three-dimensional breast imaging without compression.
Traditional mammography involves breast compression and uses X-rays. The QTI Breast Acoustic CT Scanner is designed around acoustic imaging, providing breast images without radiation exposure and without requiring a contrast agent.
The combination of three-dimensional imaging, the absence of radiation and a non-compression approach could provide another option for breast imaging and screening workflows.
Patient experience is an important component of diagnostic care. Imaging technologies that seek to reduce discomfort while providing clinicians with detailed information can contribute to efforts to make diagnostic procedures more accessible and acceptable to patients.
NXC Imaging’s recognition demonstrates how imaging innovation is continuing to focus not only on image quality but also on patient comfort and the potential expansion of diagnostic approaches.
Quanta Dialysis Technologies Offers a Multi-Modality Dialysis Platform
Dialysis care requires specialized equipment, trained clinical teams and extensive supplies. Healthcare organizations may also need different systems for different forms of renal replacement therapy.
Quanta Dialysis Technologies is being recognized for the Quanta® Dialysis System, which is designed to support multiple forms of renal replacement therapy in a single platform.
According to the company, the system is the first and only FDA-cleared dialysis device designed to provide intermittent hemodialysis (IHD), sustained low-efficiency dialysis (SLED) and bagless continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) on one system.
The system’s compact, bagless design is intended to reduce supply requirements and eliminate some of the logistical challenges associated with maintaining multiple equipment fleets.
For hospitals, consolidating multiple treatment capabilities into one platform can potentially simplify equipment management and staff workflows. The system also incorporates an intuitive interface and on-screen instructions intended to reduce the onboarding burden for critical care and dialysis teams.
The recognition reflects a broader healthcare industry focus on technologies that can support both clinical flexibility and operational efficiency.
Roche Diagnostics Expands Blood-Based Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment
The final innovation being highlighted is from Roche Diagnostics, which is being recognized for its Elecsys® Phospho-Tau (181P) Plasma test.
The blood-based biomarker test is designed to support Alzheimer’s disease evaluation in symptomatic patients. According to Roche, it is the only blood-based biomarker cleared to rule out Alzheimer’s disease in primary care.
The development of blood-based biomarkers has become an important area of diagnostic innovation because traditional Alzheimer’s disease assessment can involve more specialized procedures, including cerebrospinal fluid analysis or PET imaging.
Roche’s test is intended to provide primary care providers with an additional tool for evaluating patients who present with symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The company reports a 97.9% negative predictive value using a single actionable cutoff.
By helping primary care clinicians identify patients who can be ruled out for amyloid pathology, the test is designed to support more targeted referrals to specialists. This could reduce unnecessary use of PET and cerebrospinal fluid procedures while allowing neurological specialists to concentrate resources on patients who require further evaluation.
The technology also reflects a broader movement toward earlier and more accessible diagnostic testing. Bringing sophisticated biomarkers into primary care settings could help health systems develop more efficient referral pathways while potentially reducing dependence on invasive or expensive diagnostic procedures.
Innovation Across Multiple Areas of Healthcare
The range of products recognized at Premier’s 2026 Innovation Celebration demonstrates the diversity of innovation occurring across healthcare.
The technologies span cardiovascular intervention, infection prevention, maternal health, immunology, diagnostic imaging, renal replacement therapy and neurological diagnostics. Although their clinical applications differ, each innovation is focused on addressing a specific challenge within patient care or healthcare delivery.
Some of the technologies emphasize clinical outcomes and diagnostic decision-making, while others focus on workflow efficiency, equipment management, sustainability or patient experience. Together, they illustrate how healthcare innovation increasingly involves both clinical and operational improvements.
For healthcare providers, evaluating new technologies requires consideration of factors including clinical evidence, regulatory status, workflow integration, cost, training requirements and patient impact. Conferences such as Breakthroughs provide an opportunity for healthcare leaders to examine these factors directly and learn from organizations that are implementing new approaches.
The 15th annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition will bring healthcare executives, clinicians, supply chain professionals, suppliers and life sciences organizations together at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, on Oct. 6, 2026.
The Innovation Celebration will provide a platform for recognizing the companies behind several emerging technologies while highlighting the broader role innovation plays in healthcare transformation.
From drug-eluting balloons and chemical-free disinfection to point-of-care coagulation testing, advanced IVIG therapy, radiation-free breast imaging, multi-modality dialysis and blood-based Alzheimer’s assessment, this year’s honorees represent a broad cross-section of healthcare innovation.
As hospitals and health systems continue to seek ways to improve patient outcomes while addressing operational and financial pressures, innovations that can demonstrate meaningful clinical or workflow benefits will remain an important part of the healthcare landscape.
Premier’s recognition of these technologies underscores the continued collaboration between healthcare providers, suppliers and life sciences companies in developing and implementing solutions designed to advance patient care.
The 2026 Innovation Celebration will ultimately spotlight not only individual products but also the wider effort to translate technological and scientific progress into practical tools that can support patients, clinicians and healthcare organizations.
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