ICON has acquired Oxford Outcomes, an international health outcomes consultancy, expanding its late phase and outcomes research services. Elizabeth Thiele, formerly ICON’s executive vice president of business development, has been appointed president of this service unit.

Based in Oxford, UK, with offices in the U.S. and Canada, Oxford Outcomes provides services in the areas of patient reported outcomes (PRO), health economics, epidemiology and translation and linguistic validation.

Peter Gray, chief executive officer of ICON, said, “The biopharmaceutical industry and regulators are more than ever before using post-marketing studies to demonstrate efficacy and safety, as well as demonstrating the economic value of products. Oxford Outcomes has grown to become a leader in its field and brings to ICON a wealth of expertise in the fields of health economics, outcomes research and epidemiology and a strong reputation for excellent client service.”

“We are really excited about joining ICON,” said Paul Quarterman, group managing director of Oxford Outcomes. “The demand for health outcomes services has never been greater and merging with ICON gives us the opportunity to effectively integrate clinical development with outcomes research on a global scale. Blending the knowledge and expertise from both companies will lead to powerful, market-leading client solutions, both in the post-marketing arena and earlier in the development process.”