News & Events

ICON Creates New Global Innovation Hub in Ireland to Advance Clinical Development

Global Innovation Hub will create 200 Scientific, IT and Business jobs in Ireland

29th January 2015

ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR) a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today (Thursday) announced a new global innovation hub which will create 200 new jobs in Ireland. The hub will foster the development of new technologies and clinical trial processes that will enable faster access to large volumes of clinical data and will enable clinical trial personnel to derive better insights from the data. The 200 new jobs will include roles in IT, Data Analytics, Clinical Science, Project Management, Finance and Human Resources.

This project has been part-funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.

Commenting on the announcement, Ciaran Murray, Chief Executive Officer, ICON plc, said: “Since our foundation in Dublin in 1990, ICON has grown to become a global leader in clinical research, employing 11,000 highly-skilled professionals in 40 countries. We have successfully built relationships with all of the world’s top biopharma companies and have been at the forefront of innovation in the design and conduct of global clinical trials. As innovation plays an increasingly important role in improving the outcomes of clinical trials, we are excited to reinforce our commitment to that goal by locating our global innovation hub in Ireland, one of the leading R&D and innovation centres in the world.”

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD said: “As I have said from the start of the Action Plan for Jobs process in 2012, our key aim is to create a powerful engine of Irish enterprise alongside the strong multinational sector we have built up. ICON is a great example of what we are trying to achieve – an Irish company, operating in 40 countries around the world, delivering cutting edge services to some of the world’s biggest businesses, and employing increasing numbers of people in Ireland. Today’s announcement that ICON is creating an extra 200 jobs in Ireland – split roughly evenly between Dublin and Limerick – which will take its total employment to 1200 here, is a huge boost and a great example of what is possible from companies like this. I look forward to working with Ciaran and the team as they continue to grow”.

Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland added: “Congratulations is due to ICON on their tremendous success to date. Enterprise Ireland is committed to working with companies like ICON to help them innovate and internationalise technologies to support the design, implementation, management and interpretation of clinical trials throughout the world. I warmly welcome this exciting new investment which will expand Ireland’s capabilities in the field of data analytics and ‘Big Data’ management in the Life Sciences sector, and wish ICON continued success for the future”.

About ICON plc
ICON plc is a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The company specialises in the strategic development, management and analysis of programs that support clinical development - from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. ICON currently has approximately 11,000 employees, operating in 40 countries.

Further information is available at www.iconplc.com

ICON Media Contact

Niamh Murphy Director Corporate Communications, ICON plc

Tel: 01 2912180
niamh.murphy@iconplc.com

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and information currently available, including current economic and industry conditions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or actual results, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those stated in this press release. The forward-looking statements are subject to future events, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the statements, including, but not limited to, the ability to enter into new contracts, maintain client relationships, manage the opening of new offices and offering of new services, the integration of new business mergers and acquisitions, as well as economic and global market conditions and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in SEC reports filed by ICON, all of which are difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. The word "expected" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about the risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements may be found in SEC reports filed by ICON, including its Form 20-F, F-1, S-8 and F-3, which are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov