ICON has revealed plans to open a global innovation hub in Ireland that will focus on the development of new technologies and clinical trial processes.
The firm, which provides outsourced development services to the pharma, biotech and medical device industries, will aim for the developments to enable faster access to large volumes of clinical data and ensure a better insight from data.
Ciaran Murray, CEO of ICON, commented: “We have successfully built relationship with all of the world’s top biopharma companies and have been at the forefront of innovation in the design and conduct of global clinical trials.
“As innovation plays an increasingly important role in improving the outcomes of clinical trials, we are excited to reinforce our commitment to that goal by locating our global innovation hub in Ireland, one of the leading R&D and innovation centres in the world.”
It is thought that the opening of the hub will create 200 new jobs including positions in IT, data analytics, clinical science, project management, finance and human resources.
The project has been part-funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through Enterprise Ireland.
Julie Sinnamon, CEO of Enterprise Ireland, added: “I warmly welcome this exciting new investment which will expand Ireland’s capabilities in the field of data analytics and ‘Big Data’ management in the life sciences sector and wish ICON continued success for the future.”