ICON Completes CAP Accreditation of Central Labs in Singapore and India

Dublin, Ireland, April 7th, 2009-ICON plc, NASDAQ: ICLR; ISIN:IE0005711209),

a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today announced that its Central Laboratories in Singapore and Bangalore, India, have received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists (CAP). ICON’s Bangalore facility was rewarded for its high quality by passing the rigorous accreditation process within only four months of opening. ICON now has a global network of CAP accredited laboratories in Farmingdale, New York, Dublin, Ireland, Singapore and Bangalore, ensuring the highest standards of excellence in laboratory services.  

“CAP is the gold standard by which all laboratories are measured and this is a great achievement,” commented Bob Scott-Edwards, President of ICON Central Laboratories. “The speed at which we received CAP accreditation, in particular for our Bangalore facility, is testament to our stringent quality standards, our state of the art laboratory facilities and the expertise of our global team. We are committed to maintaining excellence in laboratory services through the provision of extensive testing and sample management services in key regions for global clinical studies.”

The CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program is an internationally recognised program that helps laboratories achieve the highest standards of excellence to positively impact patient care. Based on rigorous accreditation standards, the goal of the program is to improve patient safety by advancing the quality of pathology and laboratory services through education, standard setting and ensuring laboratories meet or exceed regulatory requirements.

About ICON Central Laboratories

ICON Central Laboratories, a division of ICON plc, provides full service, global central laboratory services from core facilities in New York, Dublin, Singapore and India, as well as through quality affiliate laboratories in China and Japan.  An extensive test menu of safety, esoteric and custom-developed assays, including global flow cytometry, is complemented by dedicated, sponsor-specific project teams and a single, comprehensive database for each study as well as a user-friendly, web-based, secure remote data access system. ICON Central Laboratories also offers a unique service to manage and compile laboratory data when a client’s study requires the use of local laboratories (iRIS).
For more information, visit

www.icolabs.com

.