Elite Research Network

What Elite Research Network does

Elite Research Network (ERN) is a privately held, US-based clinical trial site network founded in 2004 by Chris Hoyle and headquartered in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. The company coordinates more than 30 independently-owned, multi-specialty investigative sites with over 200 investigators across the United States, serving pharmaceutical sponsors and Contract Research Organizations (CROs) as a single point of contact for site identification, feasibility, contract and budget negotiation, regulatory management, and patient recruitment. ERN does not insert costs into the drug development process; instead, it derives revenue from the investigator sites for which it provides centralized business development services under a managed services model, with feasibility offered at no cost to sponsors.

The network's underlying technology stack combines central IRB infrastructure, CTMS and EMR patient data access, and historical site performance metrics to power predictive feasibility analytics and enrollment forecasting. Operational capabilities include dedicated regulatory document specialists who turn around documents in five days or less, bilingual 24/7 call-center pre-screening, and concurrent contract and budget execution that produces typical study start-up timelines of thirty days or less. Specialized therapeutic offerings include vaccine trials (over 1,000 conducted, 500,000+ patient database, 98% retention), Phase I Clinical Pharmacology Units for BA/BE and first-in-human studies, and obesity/GLP-1 studies with dedicated dieticians and board-certified obesity specialists.

ERN's go-to-market is sales-led and B2B, targeting enterprise pharmaceutical sponsors and CROs through direct relationships, major industry conferences (SCOPE, World Vaccine Congress, CNS Summit, ADA, Obesity Week), and leadership participation in DIA and SCRS. Compliance posture includes FDA, GCP, ICH, IRB, and CLIA certifications plus FWA numbers across sites. The company remains privately held with no disclosed institutional funding and is led by founder Chris Hoyle, who continues as CEO and Executive Director.

Name

Elite Research Network

Legal name

Elite Research Network

Website

https://eliteresearchnetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Elite Research Network is a US-based clinical trial site network coordinating 30+ independent investigative sites and 200+ investigators, providing centralized business development, feasibility analytics, and start-up services to pharmaceutical sponsors and CROs across all therapeutic areas and trial phases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Trial Site Network Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Trial Site Operations & Study Coordination (HLAGACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Clinical Site Start-Up & Activation (Regulatory/Ethics/Contracts) (HLAGACAC)

Keywords

• Clinical trial site network
• Clinical research services
• Investigator site management
• Clinical study start-up
• Patient recruitment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mount Pleasant

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Business Development Services: The company derives its support from the investigator sites for which it provides centralized business development services. Rather than inserting costs into the drug development process, the company generates revenue by helping investigator sites secure clinical trial contracts and coordinating the study process across the network.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Elite Research Network is a centralized business development service provider for a network of 30+ independently-owned, multi-specialty clinical trial investigative sites across the United States. The company acts as a single point of contact for pharmaceutical sponsors and CROs, providing feasibility assessment, site identification, per-patient budget development, central contract negotiation, regulatory document management, call center pre-screening, and accelerated study start-up across Phase I-IV trials and multiple therapeutic areas.

Product overview

Elite Research Network is a unified clinical trial site network offering centralized access to over 200 investigators across more than 30 independently-owned, multi-specialty investigative sites. The portfolio centers on the core site network as the primary product, supplemented by integrated service modules including feasibility analytics (combining CTMS and EMR data), site identification, budget and contract negotiation, call center/pre-screening services, regulatory management, and Phase I-IV clinical trial execution. Specialized therapeutic offerings include vaccine trials with cold-chain capabilities and obesity studies with dedicated recruitment teams. The network leverages a central IRB and dedicated regulatory specialists to deliver accelerated 30-day study start-up timelines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clinical Trial Site Network
• Feasibility Services
• Site Identification Services
• Per Patient Budget Development
• Central Contract and Budget Negotiations
• Call Center Services
• Regulatory Document Management
• Study Start-Up Services
• Phase I Clinical Pharmacology Unit Services
• Vaccine Clinical Trial Services
• Obesity Clinical Trial Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Study start-up in 30 days or less from receipt of regulatory documents and contracts
• +5 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Celerion: Specialty clinical pharmacology / Phase I unit operator with comparable early-phase capabilities (BA/BE, first-in-human, drug-drug interaction) that overlaps with ERN's Phase I Clinical Pharmacology Unit service offering.

Broad incumbents

• Medpace: Mid-sized global CRO providing full-service clinical trial execution to sponsors; competes with ERN indirectly by running its own preferred-site networks and influencing site allocation decisions across CRO-sponsor relationships.
• IQVIA: Largest global CRO with extensive site network and technology platform; sets the standard for centralized trial delivery and is the dominant incumbent ERN competes against for sponsor preferred-vendor status.
• ICON plc: Global full-service CRO with dedicated site relationships and site-solution offerings; comparable because it influences sponsor trial placement alongside ERN's network in the same sponsor RFP cycles.

Direct peers

• Velocity Clinical Research: Multi-therapeutic site network organization aggregating independent investigative sites across the US with centralized BD, contracting, and patient recruitment — same core business model as ERN and a directly comparable peer in the SMO category.
• Panthera Clinical Research: UK-headquartered site management organization operating dedicated research centers across multiple therapeutic areas, providing sponsors with a coordinated network of sites and centralized start-up — closely comparable operating model.
• Accel Research Sites: Network of dedicated clinical research sites across the US providing Phase I-IV trial conduct and patient recruitment to sponsors and CROs — closely overlapping customer base and service offering.
• DM Clinical Research: Multi-site clinical research network with therapeutic-area expertise and centralized operations supporting sponsor and CRO trial placement — comparable site-network structure and customer base.
• Javara: Integrated clinical research organization operating as a site network within large healthcare systems, providing centralized trial delivery across multiple therapeutic areas — same core sponsor value proposition as ERN.
• Flourish Research: US-based integrated site network offering multi-therapeutic Phase I-IV conduct, centralized business development, and patient recruitment services — directly comparable model and customer base to ERN.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/eliteresearchnt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elite-research-network

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Elite Research Network