SOUTH TEXAS ONCOLOGY & HEMATOLOGY, PLLC

What SOUTH TEXAS ONCOLOGY & HEMATOLOGY, PLLC does

South Texas Oncology & Hematology, PLLC operates the San Antonio flagship of The START Center for Cancer Research, a global Phase I oncology clinical trial site network. The legal entity houses 13,000+ square feet of dedicated early-phase research capacity, 4 Principal Investigators, and 60+ clinical research staff, and serves as the headquarters for the network's shared services team. Across the broader START network — which is the operational footprint the company describes to the market — there are 14 research locations spanning 8 US cities and 6 European cities, 100,000+ square feet of facilities, and a roster of 40+ Principal Investigators described as the world's largest collection of early-phase oncology investigators. The network runs 750+ active studies and sees 85,000+ new patients annually.

START's core offering is early-phase (Phase I) clinical trial services delivered on behalf of pharmaceutical companies and CROs, covering solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The supporting product surface includes the START Hope Hub patient portal, a Clinical Trial Search tool for prospective patients, and a centralized shared-services function that coordinates contracts, budgets, and IRB review across sites. The business monetizes through negotiated, study-by-study professional services contracts with pharma sponsors and CROs; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution combines direct enterprise sales to pharma sponsors with hospital-system partnerships (Baptist Health South Florida, Northwell Health) that supply patient referrals, plus a self-serve patient acquisition channel via the Hope Hub portal.

The company's value proposition to sponsors centers on speed and reliability: a reported 95% first-to-enroll rate, 150+ audits with no findings over 15+ years, and centralized SOPs that reduce multi-site coordination friction. To patients, the positioning is access — extending early-phase trial opportunities into community and partner-hospital settings rather than restricting them to a single academic center. The organization is private, with no disclosed parent, subsidiaries, funding rounds, or ownership structure.

Name

SOUTH TEXAS ONCOLOGY & HEMATOLOGY, PLLC

Legal name

START Research

Website

https://startclinical.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

South Texas Oncology & Hematology, PLLC operates the San Antonio flagship of The START Center for Cancer Research, a global Phase I oncology clinical trial network running 750+ studies across 14 sites for pharmaceutical sponsors and CROs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical Trial Site Operations & Study Coordination (HLAGACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease) (HLAGAAAL), Patient Recruitment, Site Feasibility & Trial Enablement CROs (HLAGAAAI), Clinical Site Start-Up & Activation (Regulatory/Ethics/Contracts) (HLAGACAC)

Keywords

• Oncology clinical trials
• Early phase research
• Clinical trial site network
• Phase I oncology
• Cancer research services

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Clinical Trial Services: Revenue generated from conducting early-phase oncology clinical trials on behalf of pharmaceutical companies and CROs. The network provides study conduct, site management, and regulatory coordination services across its global locations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SOUTH TEXAS ONCOLOGY & HEMATOLOGY, PLLC, operating as The START Center for Cancer Research, operates a global network of dedicated Phase I oncology clinical trial sites. The company conducts early-phase clinical trials on behalf of pharmaceutical and biotechnology sponsors and Contract Research Organizations (CROs), providing study conduct, site management, and regulatory coordination across 14 research centers in the United States and Europe. It also operates the START Hope Hub, a patient-facing portal that helps cancer patients explore and enroll in early-phase clinical trials.

Product overview

The START Center for Cancer Research operates a global network of oncology research centers offering early-phase (Phase I) clinical trial services. The core offering consists of the Early Phase Clinical Trials program, supported by the START Hope Hub patient portal and clinical trial search functionality. Together, these services provide patients access to cutting-edge anticancer drug trials while serving pharma sponsors, hospitals, and oncology practices across 14 locations in the United States and Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• START Hope Hub: Patient-facing platform designed to help patients and families understand, explore, and enroll in early-phase oncology clinical trials.

Products and services

• Early Phase Clinical Trials End-to-end Phase I oncology clinical trial services for pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology sponsors, and Contract Research Organizations (CROs), delivered across START's 14 global research centers. Includes study conduct, site management, regulatory and IRB coordination, and patient recruitment for trials in solid tumors and hematologic malignancies.
• START Hope Hub A patient-facing digital platform designed to help cancer patients and their families understand, explore, and enroll in early-phase oncology clinical trials. Provides educational content about clinical trials, patient stories, and direct access to START's trial portfolio.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% first-to-enroll rate on clinical studies
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Baptist Health South FloridacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership announced to expand patient access to early-phase cancer trials. Baptist Health South Florida patients gain access to START's network of clinical trials while START gains a healthcare system partner for patient referrals and local care delivery.
• Northwell HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership at START New York-Long Island location. Dr. Geraldine O'Sullivan Coyne leads the clinical team delivering early-phase oncology research and access to cutting-edge therapies in a hospital setting.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sarah Cannon Research Institute: Sarah Cannon is the largest community-based early-phase oncology site network in the US, operating across multiple cities and conducting Phase I trials for biopharma sponsors. It is START's closest direct competitor in the early-phase oncology site network category, with overlapping customer base (pharma/CROs), similar revenue model, and comparable global ambition.
• NEXT Oncology: NEXT Oncology is a dedicated Phase I oncology clinical trial site network with multiple US locations, founded by former START investigators. It competes directly with START for early-phase oncology trial contracts from the same biopharma sponsors and CROs, with a similar service model centered on Phase I enrollment speed.

Broad incumbents

• MD Anderson Cancer Center (Clinical Trials): MD Anderson is a leading academic cancer center running a large portfolio of early-phase oncology trials. While its scale and academic focus differ from START's community-based model, it competes for the same biopharma Phase I placement decisions and offers an alternative site-of-care for sponsors and patients.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (Clinical Trials): MSK is a major academic cancer center conducting early-phase oncology trials, serving as a competitor for sponsor trial placement and a referral destination for complex oncology patients. It represents a broader incumbent in the same clinical trial ecosystem START serves.
• IQVIA (Oncology Clinical Trials): IQVIA is a global CRO with a large oncology clinical trials business that interfaces with site networks like START. While IQVIA is a sponsor-side partner rather than a direct site competitor, it is frequently the intermediary contracting START for trial execution, making it the most comparable incumbent in the broader oncology trial services value chain.
• Labcorp Drug Development (formerly Covance): Labcorp Drug Development is a major CRO with a sizable early-phase oncology clinical trials and central lab business. It is comparable to START as a customer and ecosystem participant, often contracting site networks like START for trial conduct while also running its own site operations.
• Syneos Health (Oncology): Syneos Health is a global biopharma services provider with a significant oncology clinical development franchise. It is comparable to START as a customer and broader CRO incumbent with overlapping biopharma sponsor relationships and oncology trial execution capabilities.

Regional players

• Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute: Florida Cancer Specialists is a large community oncology practice with a significant clinical trials program attached to its network. It overlaps with START in serving community oncology patients and competing for biopharma-sponsored trial sites, primarily in the southeastern US.
• Texas Oncology / US Oncology Network: Texas Oncology is one of the largest community oncology practices in the US and part of the US Oncology Network, with an active clinical trials program. It overlaps with START in serving community oncology patients in Texas and competes for biopharma trial placement in the same geography.

Emerging players

• Caris Life Sciences: Caris is a molecular science and technology company that increasingly participates in oncology clinical trial enablement through molecular profiling and trial matching. It is an emerging adjacent participant in the same oncology trial ecosystem, intersecting with START on patient identification and trial enrollment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheSTARTCenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mycompany

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 →

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