This year, Next Research is celebrating its fifth anniversary. From its early conceptual beginnings to becoming an independent contract research organization (CRO), Next Research is shaping the evidence landscape in interventional radiology.
Five years ago, clinical research in interventional medicine faced a credibility gap. Communicating robust evidence to colleagues outside interventional radiology was often difficult due to limited, fragmented datasets and study designs with limited clinical transferability. Next Research was founded to address this challenge by supplying high-quality, independent evidence that could advance the interventional radiology field.
This ambition took shape within CIRSE as clinicians and society leadership began defining how interventional radiology could move from fragmented evidence generation toward a coordinated research infrastructure of its own.
“We knew that interventional radiology needed its own evidence engine,” said Phillippe Pereira, CIRSE President and Coordinating Investigator of CIREL and CIEMAR.
Starting with a small, dedicated team, Next Research quickly established itself through a series of landmark studies. Early projects such as CIRT and CIRT-FR, which studied the clinical application of selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) with SIR-Spheres microspheres, as well as CIREL, which gathered data on transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) using LifePearl Microspheres, laid the groundwork for future success.
CIRT-FR, the France-specific extension of the CIRT registry, was the first Next Research study to play a critical role in shaping national healthcare policy. Mandated by national health authorities to collect real-world data on patients treated with Y-90 resin microspheres, the study was designed to assess safety, effectiveness, and quality of life under national reimbursement criteria. Ultimately, the study resulted in robust evidence that supported the extension of reimbursement for SIR-Spheres in France.
“These first IO projects built trust in the organization,” said Thomas Helmberger, Coordinating Investigator of CIRT and CIRT-FR. “We proved that the IR community could run large, independent studies outside of industry.”
Hear from those who have been part of the journey as they reflect on the organization’s beginnings, its development over the past five years, and the role Next Research plays in strengthening the evidence base for minimally invasive, image-guided therapies.
Building on the success of its initial studies, Next Research expanded both its portfolio and its methodological scope. The creation of projects such as CALCIO, BRIGHT, ORACLE, and RESCUE reflected a growing ambition to address increasingly complex clinical questions across interventional radiology.
CALCIO, for example, marked Next Research’s expansion into vascular research. “Treating chronic limb-threatening ischaemia in heavily calcified arteries is one of the toughest challenges in endovascular care,” said Christoph Binkert, Coordinating Investigator of CALCIO and BRIGHT. “With CALCIO, we’re systematically collecting outcomes on intravascular lithotripsy in about 400 patients. Until now, the evidence for these patients was really lacking. CALCIO is a study that will fill that gap.”
Today, Next Research is a full-service CRO with a team of over a dozen dedicated professionals that have been working across ten clinical studies and multiple additional research projects. Data has been gathered from thousands of patients across more than 150 hospitals. Numerous peer-reviewed articles have been published, and congress presentations, webinars, and consensus panels have brought findings to the wider clinical community.
Next Research’s services cover the full research lifecycle, from conceptualisation and study conduct through to analysis, reporting, and dissemination, as well as structured literature reviews, surveys, market research, and expert group meetings.
“Next Research is really the key player that bridges the gap between physicians and industry as an independent CRO,” said Gerd Grözinger, Co-Chairperson and Coordinating Investigator of ORACLE and RESCUE.
For clinicians, for patients, and for the future of interventional radiology, evidence matters. The same commitment to rigorous, independent research that led to the creation of Next Research continues to guide its development today.
As the field evolves, Next Research is well positioned to further strengthen the role of interventional radiology within multidisciplinary care and leverage the new technologies and data-driven approaches reshaping clinical research.
Laura Crocetti, CIRSE Treasurer and EBIR Chairperson, added: “The future of research is precision medicine, not only anatomy but also all clinical biological data related to the single patient and also the integration of artificial intelligence, big data sets in research and also in clinical practice. As interventional radiologists, we have to take the leadership of all new aspects of research.”