Jul07Thu

Ireland has jumped 10 places into the top ten countries in a global innovation ranking

The BDO International Business Compass report examines the capacity for innovation by measuring labour market performance, infrastructure and foreign direct investment.

The study compared 74 countries across all continents.

“Ireland’s ranking of 7th in the BDO International Business Compass is excellent news for our foreign direct investment offering,” said Kevin Doyle, tax partner at BDO Ireland.

Mr Doyle said the ranking reflects “the strong proposition Ireland presents to international organisations and investors”.

Ireland has overtaken the UK, which remains in eighth place.

Hong Kong, Singapore and The Netherlands were the three top-ranking countries, according to the report.

“The results of the 2016 BDO International Business Compass recognise the marked improvements in Ireland’s economic outlook and capacity for innovation in recent years,” he said.

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Jun30Thu

Member News: ICON to acquire Clinical Research Management Inc.

icon-logo_0ICON to acquire Clinical Research Management Inc.

Acquisition extends ICON’s presence in the market for government sponsored research and enhances capabilities in Vaccines and Infectious Disease

Dublin, Ireland, 30th June 2016 – ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR) a global provider of drug development solutions and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today announced it has agreed, subject to certain customary closing conditions (including applicable regulatory approvals), to acquire Clinical Research Management Inc. (ClinicalRM). The acquisition will enhance ICON’s ability to access the market for government sponsored research and further enhances ICON’s capabilities in the areas of Vaccines and Infectious Disease.

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Jun10Fri

Member News: ICON Announces Service Agreement with Pfizer

icon-logo_0ICON Announces Service Agreement with Pfizer

DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)– ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR), a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today announced it has signed a three-year agreement with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE). Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer has the right to extend the term for up to an additional two years. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

The new agreement builds on the companies’ existing relationship, under which ICON provides global expertise in the planning, execution, management and conduct of clinical trials.

Ciaran Murray, ICON’s CEO, commented:  “The progression of our relationship with Pfizer is a recognition of ICON’s capabilities in supporting drug development efforts. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Pfizer to help advance its development pipeline and innovation in the drug development process.”

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Jun10Fri

New York New Belfast Conference Materials

NYNB16-Logo-smallFollow up materials available

The seventh annual New York-New Belfast conference took place at the prestigious Fordham University – Lincoln Center.

The conference highlighted the bridges of progress and prosperity being built between the citizens of the two great cities of New York and Belfast, looking optimistically to the future while celebrating our shared past. Belfast’s delegation of community, cultural and business leaders will meet with their New York counterparts to discuss investment, embedding the peace, tourism, the arts and how they can work together to the mutual benefit of their communities.

Front and center in our discussions was the digital rise of Belfast, with a special focus on matchmaking between our partners, allowing Irish American organizations, businesses and institutions to showcase their offering to our Belfast delegation.

To view a webcast and materials from the conference, including “How can startup companies and ambitious entrepreneurs build transatlantic tech bridges?”, please click HERE. (simply sign in with email address, no need to create user name and password)

IABCN members, KPMG, Invest Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Bureau, and Tourism Ireland were headline sponsors for this event.

Jun06Mon

Member News: ICON-sponsored research by Carnegie Mellon University

icon-logo_0ICON-sponsored research by Carnegie Mellon University validates shorter and simpler patient consent processes in clinical trials

Opportunities to reduce content on consent forms by over 80% and using video formats can improve patient comprehension and engagement 

Dublin, Ireland, 7th June – ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR) a global provider of drug development solutions and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today welcomed the results of ICON-supported research at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) which validate  a shorter, simple approach to patient consent processes.

The results, which were recently published in Medical Decision Making journal, show that patient consent forms could be shortened by up to 86% without losing critical understanding or sacrificing the content required by ethics boards. The research also found greater patient engagement when using a shorter paper form or when using a video format, compared with more traditional, paper-based approaches.

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Jun02Thu

Member News: Almac Appoints New VP

Almac LogoAlmac Group Appoints New Vice President of Corporate Marketing

Craigavon, N.I., UK – 2 June 2016 – Almac Group, the global contract development and manufacturing organisation is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Reid to the position of Vice President of Corporate Marketing.

Kevin’s role will be to lead Almac’s Global Corporate Marketing team, support each of Almac’s business units in the design, management and implementation of their marketing plans as well as driving the overall Almac Group communications.

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