Alliance Strengthens Geographic Coverage for both CROs
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR) (ISIN:IE0005711209), a global provider
of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology
and medical device industries, and ACRONET Corporation, one of Japan's
largest CROs, today announced they have signed an alliance agreement.
Through the agreement, ICON and ACRONET will collaborate to offer global
and Japanese pharmaceutical clients a full range of clinical development
capabilities to manage trials on a regional or global basis.
With headquarters in Tokyo and additional offices in Osaka, Fukuoka and
New York, ACRONET employs around 500 clinical development professionals.
ICON has been operational in Japan since 1995 and offers a wide range of
clinical development services and contract staffing from its offices in
Tokyo and Osaka.
Commenting on the alliance, Alan Morgan, ICON's Group President,
Clinical Research Services, said, "Japan is an important centre for
clinical research and ICON has a well established presence there. Recent
changes in the regulatory landscape mean that an increasing number of
Japanese based pharmaceutical companies are looking to run development
projects on both a domestic and pan regional basis. The alliance between
ICON and ACRONET will benefit clients, who can be assured of a wider
range of quality drug development services alongside truly global
expertise."
Shogo Nakamori, ACRONET's President & CEO, said, "The number of global
clinical trials involving the triad regions of US, EU and Japan has
increased gradually in recent years and this trend will continue to
accelerate. This is one of the challenging areas for the Japanese
pharmaceutical industry and ACRONET is now ready to contribute and
support the above challenging areas through this alliance with ICON."
ICON is one of the leading providers of contract development services in
Asia-Pacific and employs approximately 1,000 staff in the region.
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 around 7,800 employees,
operating from 77 locations in 39 countries.
Further information is available at www.iconplc.com
About ACRONET Corporation
ACRONET, a member of ITOCHU group (100% subsidiary), the forerunner as a
biostatistics and data management service provider in Japan, provides a
broad range of clinical development services including clinical
monitoring, data management and statistical analysis. Moreover, the
company has recently established the framework to support clinical
development in China.
Further information is available at http://www.acronet.jp/en/
ICON/ICLR-G
Weber Shandwick
Yasamin Omoomian
Yomoomian@webershandwick.com
+44
(0) 2070 670 594
or
ICON
Sam Farthing
VP Investor
Relations
+ 353 (0) 1291 2000
Source: ICON plc
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