News Release

ICON and ICHOM are creating the world's first global healthcare outcomes benchmarking program

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR) a global provider of drug development solutions and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today announced that it has been selected by the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) to advance value-based healthcare through the launch of a global healthcare outcomes benchmarking program called GLOBE. ICON is using its data management, data analytics and consultancy expertise to enable ICHOM to provide healthcare providers with a secure platform to share and compare high-quality, risk-adjusted health outcomes - the results of care that matter most to patients - that will lead to improvements in healthcare.

ICHOM is an independent, not-for-profit organisation founded in 2012 with the mission of unlocking the potential of value-based healthcare by facilitating the measurement and comparison of health outcomes. As a first step in realising its mission, ICHOM has worked with more than 400 leading clinicians, registry leaders, and patients worldwide to develop Standard Sets that provide a common language and approach to measuring outcomes at the condition level. The Standard Sets address 13 conditions that cover approximately 35% of the global disease burden. To date, over 70 healthcare provider systems and academic medical centres worldwide are implementing the Standard Sets to measure health outcomes. The GLOBE initiative will enable providers to compare their patients' outcomes to those of their peers and identify opportunities to improve outcomes and/or lower costs while maintaining outcomes.

ICON is drawing on its 25 years of clinical and technical expertise in data management, data analytics and patient reported outcomes to help ICHOM deliver a secure platform for healthcare providers to share and compare their health outcomes collected in accordance with the ICHOM Standard Sets. ICON is using the powerful capabilities of ICONIK for data standardisation, visualisation, analytics and reporting. In addition, ICON is providing scientific, regulatory and legal consultancy to ICHOM to enable the organisation to partner easily with healthcare providers to create a global provider excellence network.

"Bringing consistency and transparency to the measurement and reporting of health outcomes has the potential to effect real change within the global healthcare industry," commented Dr. Steve Cutler, Chief Operating Officer, ICON plc. "Through the availability of benchmarked health outcomes data, physicians can learn which treatments are most effective, which will lead to improved care for patients and reduced costs for healthcare providers who will only pay for services that achieve results. We are proud to bring our clinical and technical expertise in health outcomes and real-world data to help ICHOM to create the first global healthcare outcomes benchmarking program. Today's announcement is a further example of our commitment to working with health and life science partners to develop new and innovative solutions that improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs."

"Four years ago, ICHOM embarked on an ambitious journey to enable the adoption of value-based health care," said Christina Akerman, ICHOM President. "The GLOBE initiative is a major step along that path. This project will allow any clinics or hospitals that measure our Standard Sets to understand how they're doing relative to one another and facilitates the formation of improvement communities where providers can jointly learn and improve. We are delighted to be working with ICON, whose technical expertise and experience will allow us to accelerate the development of this important program."

ICONIK is ICON's integrated information platform that consolidates, standardises and visualises operational, clinical and real-world data from multiple sources, to provide a single holistic view of all study information. ICONIK can analyse a blend of operational, quality, efficacy and clinical safety data across multiple studies and different therapeutic areas, making it one of the most effective tools in the industry for the proactive management of a clinical trial.

About ICON plc

ICON plc is a global provider of drug development solutions and 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. With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, ICON currently operates from 90 locations in 37 countries and has approximately 11,900 employees. Further information is available at www.iconplc.com

About ICHOM

The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) is a nonprofit organization with the mission of transforming healthcare systems worldwide by enabling and promoting standardized measurement and reporting of health outcomes. ICHOM organizes global teams of physician leaders, outcomes researchers, and patients to define Standard Sets of outcomes per medical condition, and then drives adoption to enable healthcare providers globally to compare, learn, and improve.

More information is at http://www.ichom.org/

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.

ICON/ICLR-G

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ICON Media Contact
Cami Frederix
Weber Shandwick
+44 (0) 207 067 0272
CFrederix@webershandwick.com
or
ICHOM Media Contact
Isaiah Sterrett
International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement
14 Arrow St, Ste. 11
Cambridge, MA 02138
i.sterrett@ichom.org

Source: ICON plc

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