- New Carlisle, Ohio site will conduct MASH trials under Ashok Devatha, MD
- Embedded urgent care operation provides a high-traffic clinical access point, supported by Dr. Devatha’s primary care relationships
- Collaboration builds on July 2025 launch of the partnership in Yukon, Oklahoma
NEW CARLISLE, Ohio, July 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tekton Research, a multi-specialty clinical research site organization, is expanding its partnership with Summit Clinical Research Solutions (“Summit”). Under the supervision of Ashok Devatha, MD, Tekton’s New Carlisle, Ohio site will serve as a community-based access point for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) clinical trials.
Dr. Devatha is a board-certified family physician with more than 30 years in practice. Tekton’s New Carlisle site is embedded in Honey Creek Urgent Care, a high-traffic community clinic where Dr. Devatha serves both urgent care patients and primary care patients. That combination gives the site access to a steady flow of patients with cardiometabolic risk factors, while preserving the continuity of a primary care relationship.
“Liver health is increasingly recognized as a vital part of overall wellness,” said Dr. Devatha. “Many patients are entirely unaware they have liver issues because they’ve never had access to proper evaluation. Because of the high volume of patients we see, we can easily connect people with critical screening and clinical research opportunities.”
The update follows the 2025 launch of the Tekton-Summit collaboration in Yukon, Oklahoma, where MASH trials are underway as part of the partnership.
“Our approach to MASH reflects how we handle specialty trials across Tekton,” said Taryn Collett, COO of Tekton. “The greatest value has come from working with practicing physicians who are well known in their communities, have existing patient relationships, and are connected with other local physicians. It benefits all involved because patients can get tests they wouldn’t ordinarily get as part of routine care.”
Collett said Summit has been an ideal partner as Tekton expands its MASH capabilities. As a leading company in providing integrated research organization services, focused on hepatic and cardiometabolic research, Summit consistently delivers more than half of participants for MASH trials it supports at exceedingly low screen-fail rates.
“We’ve appreciated Tekton’s efforts to bring clinical trials to patients in Oklahoma,” said Brandon Early, President of Summit. “Together, Summit and Tekton have delivered successfully to sponsor expectations, and we look forward to growing this partnership.”
Sponsors and CROs with MASH, MASLD, obesity, diabetes, and related cardiometabolic trials can contact Tekton to discuss site and participant access by emailing feasibility@tektonresearch.com.
About Tekton Research
Founded in 2006, Tekton Research is a multi-specialty clinical research site organization conducting Phase 1-4 clinical trials across more than 25 sites in the U.S. Tekton specializes in cardiometabolic, neurology, vaccine, general medicine, and other high-need therapeutic areas. Tekton pairs active physicians with dedicated research teams and centralized support for feasibility, startup, recruitment, quality, and study delivery. Learn more at tektonresearch.com.
About Summit Clinical Research Solutions
Summit Clinical Research Solutions offers a full suite of services to support clinical development. With a network of 120 sites, Summit has been instrumental in advancing MASH and liver disease trials — consistently enrolling more than half of patients in global MASH studies while maintaining one of the lowest screen-fail rates, significantly reducing costs for sponsors. Summit has expanded into obesity, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer's. Backed by leading KOLs, Summit has submitted over 500 abstracts and papers through the direct efforts of its network and expert investigators. Learn more at summitclinicalresearch.com.
Media Contact Robert Jones robert.jones@tektonresearch.com
