DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

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 further improved its feasibility, protocol optimisation and patient recruitment capabilities through the use of TriNetX.

TriNetX is a research network and technology platform connecting ICON to the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems of a rapidly expanding network of healthcare organisations representing over 57 million patient lives globally. Through TriNetX, ICON is conducting real-time feasibility reviews by analysing patient populations with search criteria across multiple data points and assessing the inclusion and exclusion criteria that have the most impact on patient recruitment. Each data point in the TriNetX system can be traced to healthcare organisations who have the ability to identify individual patients, enabling ICON to develop virtual patient cohorts that can be found in real-world clinical trial settings. ICON incorporates the use of EMRs in all new client studies and has already conducted over 300 feasibility reviews utilizing TriNetX across multiple therapeutic areas.

The use of TriNetX is another example of ICON’s leadership in applying targeted technology to help customers reduce the time and cost of their development programmes through more accurate patient identification and faster patient recruitment. It follows ICON’s application of cognitive computing capabilities to clinical trial feasibility and patient recruitment. ICON’s ability to recruit patients is also strengthened through a wholly owned site network – PMG Research – with access to over 2 million active patient lives, as well as site partnerships with clinical research sites at healthcare systems and community physician practices all over the world.

Commenting on today’s announcement, ICON’s Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Steve Cutler, said: “Access to EMR systems offers new opportunities for more efficient selection of sites and patient recruitment. TriNetX offers robust query and analytics tools that enable real-time analyses of patient populations which are helping our customers design better protocols, select the right sites and recruit patients faster. ICON’s use of TriNetX is a further example of our commitment to deploy industry-leading technologies that help customers overcome complex clinical development challenges.”

“ICON is leveraging the health research network to help pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device clients bring new therapies to market faster. TriNetX is pleased to support a world leader improving the efficiency of drug development,” said Gadi Lachman, CEO, TriNetX, Inc.

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. With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, ICON currently, operates from 77 locations in 38 countries and has approximately 12,600 employees.

Further information is available at www.iconplc.com.

About TriNetX, Inc.

TriNetX is the worldwide health research network of healthcare organizations, biopharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations used to enhance clinical trial design and accelerate patient recruitment. TriNetX enables researchers to find the right patients at the right sites for clinical trials. For more information, visit http://www.trinetx.com.

ICON/ICLR-G

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and information currently available, including current economic and industry conditions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or actual results, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those stated in this press release. The forward-looking statements are subject to future events, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the statements, including, but not limited to, the ability to enter into new contracts, maintain client relationships, manage the opening of new offices and offering of new services, the integration of new business mergers and acquisitions, as well as economic and global market conditions and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in SEC reports filed by ICON, all of which are difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. The word "expected" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about the risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements may be found in SEC reports filed by ICON, including its Form 20-F, F-1, S-8 and F-3, which are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161027005003/en/