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ICON Central Laboratories aStands out as Service Provider that is more often than not Exceeding Sponsorsa? Expectationsa?

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^{Published in Health and Fitness on Thursday, November 18th 2010 at 5:00 GMT by Market Wire}  

DUBLIN--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--ICON Central Laboratories - a division of ICON plc, (NASDAQ:ICLR) (ISIN:IE0005711209), a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries - today announced results from a recent global industry research report indicating that it astands out as the service provider that is more often than not exceeding sponsorsa™ expectationsa™.

aThe State of the Central Labs Marketa™ report, published by Industry Standard Reports (ISR), examines the underlying dynamics of the central laboratory services market and provides an analysis of the key factors influencing satisfaction in central laboratories relationships by comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the top seven global central laboratories by market share. Its findings are based on data generated from 105 survey respondents from 75 unique sponsor companies, all with decision-making authority for central laboratories services.

The report found that ICON Central Laboratories currently exceeds all competitors in three key areas: sample turnaround times, geographic coverage and high value at low cost. According to the report, ICON Central Laboratories ahave focused their delivery on a core set of tests and are providing them with a high degree of quality coupled with excellent project management capabilities.a™ The report goes on to say, aICON is separating itself from its peers in terms of the traditional cost/ value matrix, [by]a meeting expectations for low cost while performing very well and delivering high value.a™

Commenting on the report, Tom Oa™Leary, President, ICON Central Laboratories, said, aWea™re delighted with the findings of Industry Standard Researcha™s latest report which demonstrates that here at ICON Central Laboratories, we continue to outperform our competitors in key areas such as sample turnaround times, geographic coverage and high value at low cost. Wea™re particularly pleased with the finding that wea™re the top rated central laboratory services provider for meeting customersa™ quality and project management expectations. This finding reflects quality improvement initiatives we have put in place for our customers such as Six Sigma methodologies and MCC metrics for quality and timeliness.a

Notes to Editors:

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 currently employs almost 7,800 employees, operating from 71 locations in 39 countries.

For further information, please visit [ www.iconplc.com ]

About ICON Central Laboratories

ICON Central Laboratories, a division of ICON plc, provides full service, global central laboratory services from core facilities in the U.S., Ireland, Singapore, India and China. 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 clienta™s study requires the use of local laboratories.

For further information, please visit [ http://www.iconplc.com/company/service-divisions/icon-central-laboratories/ ]

ICON/ICLR-G