ICON selected as Data Management Partner for the 100,000 Genomes Project

– 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 Genomics England as data management partner for the 100,000 Genomes Project.

A ground-breaking project announced by the British Prime Minister David Cameron in 2012, the 100,000 Genomes Project is sequencing 100,000 whole genomes from 70,000 National Health Service (NHS) cancer and rare disease patients and their families. It aims to demonstrate a new genomic medicine service for the NHS to support better diagnosis and more personalised treatments for patients. De-identified data from the 100,000 Genomes Project will also be made available to approved researchers from industry to help accelerate the development of new treatments and diagnostic tests that are targeted at the genetic characteristics of individual patients.

As Genomics England’s data management partner, ICON will use its powerful data management capabilities, and understanding of the growing role genomics data will have in clinical trials, to validate clinical data from the 70,000 participating patients and their families. This work will take place within the secure Genomics England data environment.

“We are very proud that our genomics knowledge and our capabilities in securely managing large clinical and real world datasets have been chosen by Genomics England for such an important and transformative project,” commented Professor Brendan Buckley, ICON’s Chief Medical Officer. “Our partnership with Genomics England demonstrates our commitment to partnering with industry and government organisations in new and innovative ways to improve patient care by accelerating the development of targeted and personalised medicines that tackle complex diseases. Genomics England’s selection of ICON also reaffirms ICON as a trusted partner to government organisations as well as the world’s top pharma, biotech and medical device companies.”

James Peach, Managing Director for the 100,000 Genomes Project Main Programme at Genomics England said: “We are delighted to be partnering with ICON. Their renowned expertise in data management will be fundamental in driving scientific research and accelerating the return of results for NHS patients.”

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. ICON has headquarters in Dublin Ireland, and employs over 700 staff in the UK from offices in London, Marlow, Eastleigh, Abingdon and Edinburgh. Globally, ICON operates from 89 locations in 38 countries and has approximately 11,900 employees. Further information is available at www.iconplc.com

About Genomics England

Genomics England is a company owned by the Department of Health and was set up to deliver the 100,000 Genomes Project. This flagship project will sequence 100,000 whole genomes from NHS patients and their families by 2017. Genomics England has four main aims:

•             To bring benefit to patients

•             To create an ethical and transparent programme based on consent

•             To enable new scientific discovery and medical insights

•             To kick-start the development of a UK genomics industry    

The project is focusing on patients with rare diseases and their families, as well as patients with common cancers. More information is at www.genomicsengland.co.uk