ICON-PLC Appoints Colin Stanley President of DOCS

Dublin, Ireland, October 17th , 2011 – ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR; ISIN:IE0005711209), a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today announced the appointment of Colin Stanley as President of DOCS, the company’s global resourcing division. Mr. Stanley succeeds Mr. Bill Taaffe as President following his retirement earlier this year.

Mr. Stanley joined ICON in 2001 and has spent the last ten years in a number of leadership positions in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Prior to his current role, he was the Chief Operating Officer of DOCS, having previously served within ICON’s clinical research division as Vice President of Clinical Operations, Asia Pacific, Director of Clinical Operations, US, and European Head of Data Management. During this time he also led a global initiative focused on process improvement across all aspects of ICON’s business. Prior to joining ICON, Mr. Stanley worked for Quintiles in their data management group. Mr. Stanley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biotechnology from Dublin City University.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Ciaran Murray, CEO ICON plc, said, "I would like to congratulate Colin on his new role. Through the various roles that Colin has held within ICON, he has gained a thorough understanding of both the ICON organisation and the global clinical research and resourcing markets. This experience will be invaluable as we continue to develop the resourcing arm of our business.”

About ICON plc

ICON plc is a global provider of outsourced development 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. ICON currently has over 8,300 employees, operating from 79 locations in 38 countries.

DOCS, a division of ICON plc, is a global provider of resourcing solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Services range from permanent recruitment and contingent staffing, to the provision and management of large-scale functional teams. DOCS offers clients access to an extensive global pool of candidates across 38 countries.

Further information is available at http://www.iconplc.com; www.docsglobal.com

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