ICON Initiates 100th Trial Using EDC

Main Category: Clinical Trials / Drug Trials
Also Included In: Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry;  IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 30 Aug 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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ICON plc (NASDAQ: ICLR) a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries announced that it has initiated its 100th trial using electronic data capture Electronic Data Capture (EDC). EDC technology is designed for the collection of clinical data in electronic format for use in clinical trials. This milestone is a further indication that the adoption of eClinical strategies within clinical research is gaining significant momentum.

The 100 trials have been achieved through partnership with some of the leading EDC system providers including Medidata and Phase Forward.

To help clients shift from paper based Data Management to eClinical solutions and adapt their organisations to the use of technology, ICON has also announced the appointment of Deborah Holmes, as Global EDC Champion, In this new role Ms. Holmes will spearhead an innovative, cross functional approach to increase efficiencies in EDC implementation. Commenting on the growing adoption of e-clinical solutions Ms Holmes said "EDC technology gives sponsors a competitive advantage by significantly reducing the cost of clinical drug development and increasing the flexibility of clinical trial design." Holmes added. "Electronic Data Capture has been an option in clinical research for more than fifteen years but several initiatives in the industry resulted in little change in attitudes within the research community. Over the past two years however use of this technology has finally started to be embraced by sponsors."

ICON intends to maximise the latest technology available to enable clients to drive increased efficiencies while also maintaining the operational flexibility to be able to provide Data Management solutions in whichever manner is appropriate to a specific study.

About ICON

ICON plc is a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The Company specializes in the strategic development, management and analysis of programs that support clinical development - from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. ICON teams have successfully conducted over 1,900 development projects and over 2,300 consultancy engagements across all major therapeutic areas. ICON currently has approximately 5,150 employees, operating from 63 locations in 33 countries.

http://www.iconclinical.com