DaVita Clinical Research

What DaVita Clinical Research does

DaVita Clinical Research (DCR) is the provider-based clinical research organization operating as the dedicated research arm of DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA). Founded as the renal research arm of DaVita Inc. (firmographics cite 1994, while governance records reference 2000), DCR functions primarily as a Site Management Organization (SMO) rather than a full-service CRO, integrating late-phase clinical trial protocols directly into DaVita's U.S. dialysis facility network. Its core offering is late-phase renal research spanning end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and the broader cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic (CVRM) therapeutic area, with adjacent expansion into rare kidney diseases and obesity/CKD trials for GLP-1-class therapies.

Name

DaVita Clinical Research

Legal name

DaVita Inc.

Website

https://davitaclinicalresearch.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

DaVita Clinical Research is the provider-based clinical research arm of DaVita Inc., offering late-phase renal and CVRM clinical trial site management, patient recruitment, rare disease networks, and real-world data to pharmaceutical sponsors, biotech firms, and CROs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Clinical Trial Services: DCR generates revenue by managing clinical trials for pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors. As an SMO, they provide site management, patient recruitment, regulatory preparation, contracting, and payment management services. Revenue is generated through per-trial contracts with sponsors, typically involving per-patient fees, site management fees, and protocol consultation services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

DaVita Clinical Research operates as a provider-based contract research organization (CRO) and Site Management Organization (SMO) delivering late-phase clinical trial services for renal and cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic (CVRM) conditions. The company integrates research protocols into DaVita's U.S. dialysis facility network through its Alliance and Affiliate Site Networks, providing patient recruitment, regulatory preparation, contracting, payment management, and real-world healthcare data solutions to pharmaceutical and biotech sponsors.

Product overview

DaVita Clinical Research (DCR) operates as a provider-based CRO and Site Management Organization (SMO) offering integrated clinical research services primarily focused on late-phase renal research. The company provides two site management models: the full-service Alliance Site Network and the Affiliate Site Network. DCR's core offerings include the CVRM (Cardiovascular, Renal, and Metabolic) Research Site Network, the CKD and Rare Disease Network for rare kidney conditions, and Real-World Healthcare Data services spanning drug development phases. Supporting resources include a Scientific Library with 700+ publications, Video Library, downloadable brochures, and the patient-facing MyKidneyResearch.com portal. The BioReG (Biorepository Grant Program) supports precision medicine innovation. With access to over 500,000 potential trial participants in dialysis settings, DCR functions more as an SMO than a CRO, managing integration of research protocols into dialysis facilities while providing regulatory preparation, contracting, payment management, enrollment assistance, and facility oversight.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MyKidneyResearch: A patient-facing portal for individuals interested in participating in kidney disease clinical trials, operated by DaVita Clinical Research to facilitate patient recruitment and engagement.
• Alliance Site Network
• CVRM Research Site Network

Products and services

• Late Phase Clinical Research

Quantifiable outcome

• 45,000+ research-related patient visits completed in 2018
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Harvard Medical School / Brigham and Women's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDCR's Medical Director Steven Brunelli MD, MSCE was previously a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, where he directed an active clinical research group focusing on chronic kidney disease, pharmacoepidemiology, and pharmacoeconomics.
• Brigham and Women's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Sushrut Waikar of Brigham and Women's Hospital is a BioReG recipient, using DCR biorepository specimens for nephrology research.
• University of Tennessee-MemphisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Miklos Molnar and Dr. Csaba Kovesdy of University of Tennessee-Memphis received BioReG grants for nephrology research using DCR specimens.
• Johns Hopkins UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Tariq Shafi of Johns Hopkins University is a BioReG recipient conducting nephrology research with DCR specimens.
• University of California-IrvineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh of UC-Irvine received a BioReG grant for kidney disease research using DCR biorepository specimens.
• Vanderbilt UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDCR's Francesca Tentori MD is an adjunct instructor at Vanderbilt University. DCR has conducted research in collaboration with Vanderbilt-affiliated researchers.
• UNC Kidney CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDCR collaborated with UNC Kidney Center on a dialysis research video highlighting the importance of research for dialysis patients and their caregivers.
• Pharmaceutical CROs and SponsorscoreOthersDCR has worked with every major CRO and pharma company in the renal business, as well as advising smaller biotech companies on implementation of their clinical trials.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• IQVIA: Global full-service CRO with deep therapeutic-area coverage including nephrology and CVRM; competes with DCR for late-phase renal and metabolic trial sponsors but at vastly larger scale and with global site footprint DCR lacks.
• PPD (Thermo Fisher Scientific): Thermo Fisher's clinical research business, one of the largest global CROs; competes with DCR on late-phase renal/CVRM trials with broader geographic reach and integrated lab services.
• Medpace: Mid-to-large full-service CRO with strong therapeutic-area expertise (including metabolic and cardiovascular); competes with DCR for late-phase sponsor work, especially among small and mid-size biopharma.
• Syneos Health: Full-service clinical and commercial solutions provider with therapeutic specialism and a significant site network; competes with DCR on late-phase trials and offers commercial functions DCR does not.
• ICON plc: Major global CRO (post-PRA Health Sciences combination) offering full-service Phase I–IV execution; comparable to DCR's late-phase offering for sponsors seeking a single integrated provider across multiple therapeutic areas.
• Labcorp Drug Development (Fortrea): Large clinical development services provider (spun out of Labcorp) with broad therapeutic-area coverage including renal, cardiovascular and metabolic — a broad incumbent competitor to DCR for full-service late-phase work.

Emerging players

• Velocity Clinical Research: Multi-site clinical research platform operating dedicated research sites; competes with DCR's site-management model for sponsor late-phase trials, though without DCR's integrated dialysis-facility distribution advantage.
• Circuit Clinical: Decentralized and site-network clinical research provider focused on improving trial access and diversity; competes with DCR's Alliance/Affiliate site model particularly on patient recruitment and DCT execution for renal/CVRM studies.

Direct peers

• Frenova Renal Research (Fresenius Medical Care): Fresenius Medical Care's renal-focused clinical research arm — the closest direct competitor to DCR because it leverages Fresenius' dialysis-center footprint and CKD patient population to run late-phase renal trials, mirroring DCR's provider-based SMO model.
• Worldwide Clinical Trials: Mid-size specialty CRO with therapeutic-area focus in renal, cardiovascular and metabolic disease — directly comparable to DCR's specialization profile and target customer set of pharma/biotech sponsors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/davitaresearch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/DaVitaClinResearch
• Facebookfacebook.com/davitaclinicalresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/davita-clinical-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DaVita Clinical Research