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 the results from a new survey of pharmaceutical executives and professionals by ICON and Pharma Intelligence, which examines the key challenge of declining research and development (R&D) efficiency.

A roundtable of pharmaceutical industry executives discussed the survey findings, alongside the key challenges affecting the pharmaceutical industry. The discussion enabled industry experts to identify the potential for generating savings and improving trial efficiency, as well as assessing how digital disruption is forcing change.

The challenges most frequently cited by survey respondents are patient enrolment (56%), site start-up (43%) and regulatory approval delays and changes (43%). Respondents also identified study start up, patient recruitment and retention, and protocol development as three key areas with the most potential for generating savings and efficiencies.

“ICON recognizes the challenges our customers are facing and is focused on building our integrated site and patient network to improve trial start up, as well as patient recruitment and retention.” commented Dr. Steve Cutler, Chief Executive Officer, ICON, on the survey findings.

Opinions of which technology trends will have the greatest impact on clinical trial operations varied. 36% of survey respondents noted that leveraging big data and AI technologies would have the most impact on improving clinical trial efficiency. 35% reported that risk-based approaches toward monitoring held greater opportunity for impact on clinical development.

The survey demonstrates that industry have realised the need for a holistic effort to transform trials, however, only one in five survey respondents (22%) stated their organisation currently has an integrated effort to drive clinical trials transformations. A further 83% of respondents believe strategic partnerships with CROs will be important to the success of clinical trials over the next five years.

Informed by the survey responses, the Improving Pharma R&D Efficiency whitepaper proposes a three-part framework for guiding strategy in transforming clinical trials.

• Adopting a radical patient focus;
• A greater use of adaptive clinical trials and other alternate trial models;
• Automating data collection and analysis

The whitepaper argues that while adopting disparate tactics can improve elements of clinical trial efficiency, the potential is even greater when change is applied in a coordinated fashion to reimagine and reinvent the R&D enterprise.

For further information on ICON’s Transforming Trials initiative and the Improving Pharma R&D Efficiency whitepaper, please visit: www.iconplc.com/pharma

About the ICON Transforming Trials survey

Designed, conducted and analysed by Informa Engage using accepted market research methods, 76 members of the Pharma Database responded to the emailed survey between Oct 16 and 30, 2017. Half of respondents were director level or higher, 24 percent managers and 26 percent clinical trial professional personnel with no direct reports. A roundtable of invited pharmaceutical industry executives was held at Informa offices in London in November 2017 to discuss the survey results. The survey data, and roundtable discussion, were complimented by extensive desk research, in part conducted by ISR Research.

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 97 locations in 38 countries and has approximately 13,380 employees. More information is at http://www.iconplc.com/wearables

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.

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