NEXT Oncology Partners with Kansai Medical University

Presence of NEXT Oncology, in the Avacare portfolio, is expanded to Asia through joint venture with Kansai Medical University in Osaka, Japan. The move strengthens its position as one of the world’s largest Phase I cancer trial organizations.

Under the leadership of Dr. Toshio Shimizu, who will head the Phase I program, the partnership will give patients in Japan access to early-stage clinical trials within the global NEXT Oncology network. Dr. Shimizu, a Professor in the Department of New Experimental Therapeutics and Director of Early Phase I Drug Development Services at Kansai Medical University Hospital, brings years of experience in oncology research.

Guided early in his career by NEXT Oncology’s CEO and Founder, Dr. Anthony W. Tolcher, Dr. Shimizu completed an advanced clinical fellowship in early Phase I drug development in San Antonio between 2010 and 2012. He later led numerous oncology trials at the National Cancer Center Hospital in Tokyo from 2016 to 2022. In November 2024, he launched a global first-in-human oncology trial platform at Kansai Medical University Hospital, where over twenty active Phase I studies are now underway.

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NEXT Oncology currently operates centers in San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, and Houston in Texas, as well as Arlington, Virginia; Barcelona and Madrid, Spain; São Paulo, Brazil; and now Osaka, Japan. The organization treats more than 1,000 patients annually and continues to grow its global reach in early cancer drug development.