FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jill Byrd, 210-501-4288, Jill@JillByrdPR.com
Michelle Keene, 571-499-1914, Michelle.Keene@USOncology.com
(SAN ANTONIO) January 9, 2023 –– Dr. Alexander I. Spira of Virginia Cancer Specialists (VCS) and Dr. Anthony Tolcher, CEO and founder of NEXT Oncology, are pleased to announce the grand opening of their joint venture, NEXT – Virginia, on January 12 to expand access to early stage developmental therapeutics through clinical cancer research, bringing the latest in new agents and anticancer treatments to the Research Institute.
NEXT Oncology has relationships with both Texas Oncology and VCS, and joined forces to form NEXT – Virginia in September 2021. The 16,000 square foot, state-of-the-art clinic is located at 8613 Lee Highway in Fairfax. The venture expands the breadth of clinical cancer research and treatment options for patients across the MidAtlantic area by offering Phase I, II and III anti-cancer therapies. NEXT – Virginia is headed by Dr. Spira who serves as the site’s clinical director and CEO.
NEXT Oncology’s proprietary Phase I centers provide patients with advanced cancer who have exhausted all other treatment options access to the newest cancer treatments available.
“Dr. Spira is an excellent physician and Phase I cancer researcher who wants to grow his existing research institute,” said Dr. Tolcher said. “Together our goal is to grow the Next Oncology infrastructure to create access to potentially life-saving therapies to people, while simultaneously expediting the development of new therapies for the treatment and eventual cure of cancer. We are going to make cancer treatable or curable in my lifetime.”
Dr. Spira, MD, PhD. FACP, is the co-director of the VCS Research Institute. He is the director of the thoracic and Phase I program and a clinical assistant professor at John Hopkins. Dr. Spira has a special interest in thoracic oncology and serves as Co-Chair of Dr. Alexander I. Spira, the US Oncology Thoracic Oncology Research Program. Mitul Gandhi, MD, serves as VCS Co-Director, and is a physician at NEXT – Virginia along with M. Adham Salkeni, MD, who specializes in clinical research.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to bring the Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute together with NEXT Oncology,” Dr. Spira said. “NEXT-Virginia now forms the largest and best clinical oncology trial facility in the area, and this collaboration expands its offerings in developmental therapeutics to patients that are unavailable elsewhere.”
NEXT – VIRGINIA GRAND OPENING
Phase I oncology trials are an important step in the drug development process. Trial participation enables patients to actively engage in their medical care, provides patients with access to novel treatments not yet commercially available, and it helps future patients on the path to new, transformative discoveries. Clinical research trials are conducted according to strict scientific and ethical principles, and groups of experts at the national and local levels approve research studies before they begin.
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About NEXT Oncology
NEXT Oncology is dedicated to the development of new anticancer agents for patients whose current cancer therapy is no longer working to benefit them and are looking for their next option. NEXT is partnered with Texas Oncology, the largest private oncology practice in the United States with more than 400 referring oncologists and US Oncology, a network of independent, community-based oncologists in the U.S. This formidable size and reach provide NEXT unprecedented opportunities to transform what has come to be expected from clinical trials of new agents.
About Virginia Cancer Specialists
Virginia Cancer Specialists is the largest comprehensive private cancer practice in Northern Virginia. It features a world- class treatment team fighting cancer and diseases of the blood, offering access to the most current treatment protocols, clinical trials, and comprehensive care. Its fully staffed, comprehensive clinical research program also includes a dedicated research facility for Phase I clinical trials – the Virginia Cancer Specialists Research institute is largest of its kind in the Northern Virginia area. VCS offers medical oncology, radiation oncology, musculoskeletal tumor surgery, breast surgery, thoracic surgery, genetic counseling, palliative care, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants, oncology nurse navigators, oncology infusion nurses, oncology pharmacists, social workers, dietitians, and laboratory technicians. Virginia Cancer Specialists is part of The US Oncology Network. This collaboration unites the practice with more than 1,400 independent physicians and research and data from thousands of cancer patients in clinical trials across the country.
Virginia Cancer Specialists also participates in clinical trials through US Oncology Research, which has played a role in more than 100 FDA-approved cancer therapies. The Network is supported by McKesson Corporation, a global leader in healthcare solutions.
