ICON and ACRONET Corp. have signed an alliance agreement under which the two companies will collaborate to offer global and Japanese pharmaceutical clients a full range of clinical development capabilities to manage trials both regionally and globally.

ACRONET is headquartered in Tokyo with additional offices in Osaka, Fukuoka and New York. ICON has been operational in Japan since 1995 and offers clinical development services and contract staffing from its offices in Tokyo and Osaka.

Alan Morgan, ICON’s group president, Clinical Research Services, said, “Japan is an important center for clinical research and ICON has a well established presence there. Recent changes in the regulatory landscape mean that an increasing number of Japanese based pharmaceutical companies are looking to run development projects on both a domestic and pan regional basis. The alliance between ICON and ACRONET will benefit clients, who can be assured of a wider range of quality drug development services alongside truly global expertise.”

Shogo Nakamori, ACRONET’s president and chief executive officer said, “The number of global clinical trials involving the triad regions of U.S., EU and Japan has increased gradually in recent years and this trend will continue to accelerate. This is one of the challenging areas for the Japanese pharmaceutical industry and ACRONET is now ready to contribute and support the above challenging areas through this alliance with ICON.”