Southlake company brings support and access to clinical trials, no matter where you live

If you can’t get to help, then help should come to you.

And that’s what R’Kes Starling, founder and CEO of Reveles Clinical Services in Southlake, is doing with his new company that opened in February. The Reveles name is derived from the Latin root word that means “to discover” or “bring to light.”

Reveles is a purposeful, technology-enabled clinical research organization. Its mission is to bring hope closer to home for more patients in need of treatment for complex and rare diseases, working to help patients participate in clinical trials no matter their zip code.

“Reveles believes that our work is noble and that we have a unique ability to help advance medical innovation and accelerate the clinical discovery process by enabling more patients to engage in clinical trials,” Starling said. “My mother’s experience makes this work deeply personal for us.”

The idea for Reveles came from Starling being frustrated by the fact that his mother, who was diagnosed with a rare lung disease with no FDA-approved treatment, was open and willing to participate in a clinical trial. However, it wasn’t accessible.

“The trial was available in another city and state, and I felt that with the many advancements in digital health technology that all patients should be able to participate in clinical research regardless of their zip codes,” he said.

And that’s exactly what the Arlington Sam Houston High graduate is doing now. He established a company for patients who typically are unable to participate in traditional clinical trials.

Reveles strives to optimize the lengthy and expensive clinical trial process by leveraging in-home clinical trial services and technologies such as telehealth, eConsent, mobile apps, and remote data collection from variable sources like wearable devices.

Starling stressed Reveles is committed to addressing the under-representation in clinical research, where he said there remains a lack of diversity among ethnic and racial minorities, by increasing awareness and expanding access to groundbreaking research.

“Clinical trials have traditionally fallen short of enrolling participants that fully represent the demographics of the general population or those experiencing the disease or condition that they are studying,” he said. “Without research representative of all patients with a disease, it is difficult to determine which segments and sub-segments are assisted by a treatment.

“ ... We have an unwavering mission and commitment to address the under-representation and lack of diversity of geographical, age, ethnic, and racial minorities by increasing awareness and expanding access to groundbreaking clinical research.”

While it may never lead to doctor house calls again, Starling is hoping his company will inspire more at-home help, perhaps even for folks with more common ailments.

“As new models of in-home, decentralized, and hybrid trials gain wider adoption across the industry, our hope is that these trials can bridge the divide in participation for demographic groups that have been overlooked for far too long,” he said. “Hope is a strategy — and it is our strategy.”

This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 7:00 AM.