DUBLIN, June 16 /PRNewswire/ --

- New Facility Part of Ambitious Expansion Plans at Central Manchester
University Hospitals Foundation Trust Campus

ICON plc, (NASDAQ: ICLR; ISIN:IE0005711209), a global provider
of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and
medical device industries, today announced that it has signed a collaborative
agreement with the Central Manchester University Hospitals Foundation (CMFT)
to develop a purpose built translational medicine facility.

The new facility will form part of an ambitious expansion plan being
undertaken by Central Manchester University Hospitals Foundation Trust (CMFT)
to develop the existing Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) campus. This
re-development plan has already delivered Britain's largest children's
hospital, which is due to open later in 2009. The remainder of the campus
development is due for completion by April 2012 and will house an
ICON-designed state-of-the-art Translational Medicine Unit. In the interim
period ICON will transfer its current clinical pharmacology services into
dedicated clinical research facilities on the Manchester Royal Infirmary
site.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr Thomas Frey, President,
ICON Development Solutions, said "We are delighted to be collaborating with
the CMFT and the Manchester Academic Health Centre to continue to develop the
region as an international centre of excellence in translational medicine.
Moving to a hospital-based setting also meets the needs of our customers who
are increasingly looking to run their first-in-human studies in hospital
environments."

Mike Deegan, Chief Executive of the CMFT added: "Our aim is to
build upon our investments in facilities and high calibre clinical academic
staff to consolidate our reputation as a leading international research
hospital. This exciting new collaboration with ICON is a major step for the
Trust and will accelerate the translation of research discoveries into new
medicines. We look forward to working with the highly regarded ICON team."

CMFT is a member of the Manchester Academic Health Science
Centre (MAHSC) which is one of only five centres designated by the Department
of Health as a centre of excellence in applying health research and education
into healthcare. Through the collaboration ICON will share expertise and has
access to the facilities of the other NHS members and the University of
Manchester. Commenting on the collaboration, Linda Magee, Chief Operating
Officer, MAHSC said "ICON is one of MAHSC's selected industry partners and we
are delighted they are developing their facilities with one of the MAHSC
members, CMFT. As well as ICON's complementary capabilities in clinical
trials, we greatly value their commitment and contribution to education and
training for clinical academics."

Dr Allison Jeynes-Ellis, Medical and Innovation Director at the
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), said: "This is an
example of the type of collaboration between industry, academia and the NHS
that the ABPI is seeking to encourage and which we believe will help drive
forward translational medicine, building on the strength of the
pharmaceutical, science and clinical base in the UK."

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 7,100 employees, operating from 71
locations in 38 countries. Further information is available at
http://www.iconplc.com

About Central Manchester University Hospitals Foundation Trust

The Trust was established in April 2001 following public consultation to
merge the then Central Manchester Healthcare NHS Trust and Manchester
Children's Hospitals NHS Trust. It was authorised as a Foundation Trust by
Monitor and from January 1 2009 became known as Central Manchester University
Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It now has 1,208 beds across six hospitals
and approximately 8,000 staff.

http://www.cmft.nhs.uk/

About Manchester Academic Health Science Centre

The Manchester Academic Health Science Centre is a partnership between
six NHS organisations in Greater Manchester and The University of Manchester.
Manchester AHSC was formally established in July 2008 to underpin the
development of Greater Manchester as a world leader in health research. A
federation, which interconnects Manchester's existing research activity and
research partnerships, offers huge potential and opportunities and will
generate health benefits, economic development, enterprise, innovation and
wealth creation in Greater Manchester and the wider North West.
http://www.mahsc.ac.uk/