FORM 6-K


SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Washington, D.C. 20549


Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934


For the month ended November, 2008


ICON plc
(Registrant's name)


0-29714
(Commission file number)


South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, Ireland
(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

              Yes___X___                                   No_______

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):

              Yes______                                    No___X___

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):

              Yes______                                    No___X___

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

              Yes_______                                   No___X___

If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):82      N/A

EXHIBIT LIST

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Exhibit 99.1

ICON Acquires Prevalere Life Sciences Inc

Expands Bioanalytical and Immunoassay Capabilities into the United States

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 14, 2008--ICON plc, (NASDAQ:ICLR) (ISIN:IE0005711209), a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today announced that is has acquired Prevalere Life Sciences Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of ORS Labs Inc. Under the terms of the agreement ICON will pay an initial cash consideration of $35M. If certain performance milestones are achieved, a further consideration, up to a maximum of $8.2M may be payable.

Prevalere is one of the leading providers of bioanalytical and immunoassay laboratory services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and operates from a 49,000 square foot facility in Whitesboro, New York. Prevalere will complement ICON’s existing European-based bioanalytical lab capabilities, where ICON Development Solutions recently moved to a new, purpose-built bioanalytical and immunoassay laboratory in Manchester, England.

“The acquisition of Prevalere gives ICON much greater scale in the rapidly growing market for bioanalytical and immunoassay laboratory services and adds value to our service offering in early phase clinical development,” commented Peter Gray, ICON CEO. “Prevalere brings to ICON a highly experienced team, an excellent lab facility in the United States and a strong market reputation amongst top-tier pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.”

“I am delighted that Prevalere will be joining forces with ICON to offer a broader range of early drug development services to our clients,” said Mario Rocci, CEO of Prevalere. “I believe both companies share a commitment to quality, customer focus and technical excellence that will continue to foster growth and innovation.”

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 teams have successfully conducted over 5500 development projects and consultancy engagements across all major therapeutic areas. ICON currently has over 6600 employees, operating from 71 locations in 38 countries. Further information is available at www.iconplc.com.

About Prevalere Life Sciences, Inc

Prevalere Life Sciences, Inc. is a contract research organisation that provides consulting, bioanalytical and physical/chemical testing services that meet the evolving research and development challenges of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Further information can be obtained at www.Prevalere.com.

CONTACT:
ICON plc
Ciaran Murray, CFO
+353-1-291-2000