Next Innovative Clinical Research (NICR)

What Next Innovative Clinical Research (NICR) does

Next Innovative Clinical Research (NICR / NextICR) is a privately held, multi-site clinical research organization founded in 2018 that conducts Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials on behalf of pharmaceutical sponsors. The company operates 6 clinical research sites across two U.S. metropolitan areas — Houston, TX (regional headquarters at 1415 North Loop West, Suite 750) and Chicago, IL (337 E. 35th St.) — staffed by 12 investigators and has completed 28 trials enrolling 550+ participants since inception. Its core offering is professional-services clinical trial execution, monetized through per-study/site fees paid by pharmaceutical sponsors, and its GTM motion is enterprise field sales targeting top pharma companies seeking access to diverse patient populations.

The company’s product surface centers on the Vibe App, a mobile application that enables participants to sign up for trials and receive SMS-based communications about active studies, complemented by two sub-initiatives: the NextICR Foundation (community outreach to diverse populations) and NextICR University (clinical research education and training). Participant recruitment is driven through the website, SMS consent flows, social media, and community partnerships, while sponsor engagement runs through direct B2B enterprise relationships. The value proposition is differentiated by access to historically underserved diverse communities in Houston and Chicago, positioning NICR as a specialized site network rather than a full-service CRO.

NICR operates without disclosed external venture or institutional funding, parent company, patents, awards, regulatory actions, named sponsor relationships, or executive leadership disclosures, which constrains diligence visibility. The technology footprint is a clinical research site operations platform with a participant-facing mobile app; no proprietary AI/ML, data assets, or third-party integrations are disclosed. Operating status is active across both metros, with stated business hours Monday–Friday 9 AM–5 PM CST and weekend appointments by arrangement.

Name

Next Innovative Clinical Research (NICR)

Legal name

Next Innovative Clinical Research

Website

https://nexticr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Next Innovative Clinical Research (NICR) is a private multi-site clinical research organization founded in 2018 that conducts Phase I–IV clinical trials for pharmaceutical sponsors across 6 sites in Houston and Chicago, recruiting diverse participants through its Vibe App and community outreach.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Research Services (Contract Research Organization)

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Trial Site Operations & Study Coordination (HLAGACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Clinical Development (Phase I–III Trial Design & Execution) (HLAIALAE), Post-Approval Clinical Development (Phase IV & Lifecycle Management) (HLAIALAJ)

Keywords

• Clinical trial services
• Clinical research organization
• Patient recruitment services
• Pharmaceutical trial management
• Diverse patient enrollment

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Clinical Trial Services: Revenue generated from conducting clinical trials on behalf of pharmaceutical companies. The company operates research sites and recruits participants for Phase I-IV clinical trials, serving as a partner to the world's top pharmaceutical companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Next Innovative Clinical Research operates a network of six clinical research sites in Houston and Chicago that conduct Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials on behalf of the world's top pharmaceutical companies. The organization recruits diverse patient participants from historically underserved communities, supports 12 investigators, and uses the Vibe App to facilitate participant sign-up and SMS-based communication about current trials.

Product overview

Next Innovative Clinical Research (NICR) offers a unified clinical research platform centered on the Vibe App, which enables participants to sign up for clinical trials and receive SMS updates about current studies. The company provides end-to-end clinical trial services spanning Phase I through Phase IV, operating 6 research sites with 12 investigators across Houston and Chicago. The portfolio includes the core Vibe App mobile application and two sub-initiatives: NEXTICR Foundation (community outreach) and NEXTICR University (education). Together, these offerings connect diverse communities with pharmaceutical company research studies, having enrolled 550+ participants across 28 trials since 2018.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NextICR Foundation: Foundation division of Next Innovative Clinical Research focused on community outreach and education.
• NextICR University

Products and services

• Vibe App

Quantifiable outcome

• 550+ participants enrolled across 28 clinical trials since 2018

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Flourish Research: Multi-site clinical research site network running Phase I–IV trials with sponsor relationships. Comparable to NextICR in multi-site SMO model, phase coverage, and pharma enterprise sales motion.
• Javara Research: Integrated clinical research organization operating as an SMO within healthcare systems, focused on broadening trial access. Comparable to NextICR as a multi-site SMO targeting sponsor B2B contracts and diverse enrollment.
• EmVenio Clinical Research: Decentralized and community-based clinical trial site network owned by Thermo Fisher PPD, focused on enrolling diverse and underrepresented populations. Directly comparable to NextICR in mission, delivery model, and target patient demographics.
• Elligo Health Research: Operates a network of community-based clinical research sites via 'Goes Direct' model, bringing trials to physician practices and diverse populations. Closely comparable to NextICR's community-access approach and multi-site SMO structure.
• Accellacare (by PCM Trials): Decentralized clinical trial site network bringing research into community practices, with an explicit emphasis on diverse patient populations. Direct peer given overlapping community-based enrollment thesis.

Broad incumbents

• Syneos Health: Biopharmaceutical services organization offering clinical development and site solutions to pharma sponsors. Comparable as a broad incumbent competitor in Phase I–IV trial delivery and site management.
• ICON plc: Global CRO with site-management and patient-recruitment capabilities following the PRA Health Sciences acquisition. Comparable as a large incumbent in clinical trial services and site operations for pharma sponsors.
• IQVIA: Largest global CRO operating its own site network (IQVIA Sites) and providing full Phase I–IV trial services to pharma sponsors. Comparable as a broader incumbent offering the same enterprise B2B clinical trial services NextICR provides, but at vastly greater scale.

Emerging players

• Vector Oncology: Specialty site network focused on oncology and hematology clinical trials. Comparable to NextICR as a focused SMO with multi-site operations and B2B pharma relationships, though concentrated in oncology.
• Citruslabs: Tech-enabled patient recruitment platform for clinical trials. Comparable to NextICR's Vibe App in approaching participant recruitment digitally, though Citruslabs is software-first rather than site-operating.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/next-innovative-clinical-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Next Innovative Clinical Research (NICR)