Jobs boost for Edinburgh

May 15 2008

ICON opens new office to serve growing life sciences sector

A PROVIDER of development services in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries has opened a new operation in Edinburgh.

ICON, which specialises in the management and analysis of clinical studies supporting the development of new medicines, will initially create 60 new jobs.

The company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and employs more than 6000 people globally across 36 countries.

"Edinburgh's excellent infrastructure and highly skilled labour force made it an obvious choice for our first Scottish operation," said Alan Morgan, President ICON Clinical Research, Europe.

 "The help and support we received from Scottish Enterprise also made our decision easier compared to the other locations we looked at."


Jim Mather, the Scottish Government's enterprise minister, said: "This is a tribute to Scotland's strengths in clinical sciences and great news for Edinburgh.

"Scottish Enterprise funding of £100,000 will help with the fit-out and preparation of ICON's new facility, a clear demonstration of the benefits of refocusing Scotland's public sector to support our aim of increased sustainable growth."

Lena Wilson, Scottish Enterprise's chief operating officer, said: "ICON is one of the leading companies operating in this fast expanding market and I'm delighted to welcome them here.

"They are exactly the type of company that can ultimately help Scotland develop, attract and retain high quality talent in the rapidly growing life sciences sector."

The company expansion move was also supported by Scottish Development International.

"This project will significantly boost Scotland's reputation as a location for contract research and is another sign of our continuing ability to attract top quality jobs through our inward investment agency Scottish Development International," added Ms Wilson.