ICON, CMFT collaborate to develop translational medicine facilities on the MRI campus

ICON plc, (NASDAQ:ICLR)(ISIN:IE0005711209), a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today announced details of its new translational medicine unit in Manchester, UK. The unit is the first deliverable from a collaborative agreement between ICON and the Central Manchester University Hospitals Foundation (CMFT) to develop purpose-built translational medicine facilities on the newly-developed Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) campus.

Scheduled to open in April 2010, the new hospital-based unit will comprise of 34 beds, an on-site GMP pharmacy, a sample handling laboratory, multiple meeting and admissions rooms and has contiguous access to the Accident and Emergency department at the MRI. The unit will also offer Pharmacodynamic study testing suites that are fully environmentally controlled, which will be used to further enhance ICON’s market leadership in the development and validation of Pharmacodynamic models that assist in identifying efficacy signals in compounds. The development complements ICON’s investment in new bioanalytical and biomarker laboratory capabilities in Manchester in 2008.

“We are delighted to be collaborating with a partner who shares our vision for early-stage clinical development and are proud to be developing our world class translational medicine facility at the CMFT campus,” commented Dr. Thomas Frey, President, ICON Development Solutions. “We have been conducting clinical pharmacology in Manchester for over 25 years and this new unit will enable us to continue to develop the region as an international centre of excellence in translational medicine. The facilities and the relationships that ICON has established will enable sponsors to rapidly access the appropriate populations to develop their drugs.”