ICON Selects Microsoft to Power AI-enabled Clinical Development

ICON plc has selected Microsoft as a preferred technology partner to support its plan to invest in digital innovation and AI over the next three years. This partnership incorporates an enterprise-wide deployment of Microsoft 365 Copilot along with an enterprise-grade cloud, data and AI infrastructure to further scale Orbis, ICON’s agentic AI platform.

Through Orbis, ICON is building an intelligence layer that connects expertise, data, and AI across the trial lifecycle. By combining frontier model capabilities with ICON’s operational expertise, it has significant impacts on the trial lifecycle through:

Accelerating study design using AI‑enabled protocol digitization, optimization and scenario modelling.

Streamlining operational execution, supporting workflows across feasibility, site identification, start‑up, monitoring, data review and regulatory documentation.

Enhancing patient and site engagement, offering intelligent assistants for burden reduction, safety insights and improved communication.

Strengthening decision‑making, enabling real‑time detection of risks, trends and operational signals.

Microsoft will support the development of a modern data layer, powered by Microsoft Fabric and Azure data services, that connects, harmonizes and governs ICON’s clinical, operational and enterprise data. This unified foundation gives Orbis real-time data at scale.

ICON is expanding Microsoft 365 Copilot and Copilot Chat to all employees enabling the automation of high-volume, repeatable tasks.

Using Microsoft Azure, Microsoft AI Services and Microsoft Foundry – alongside access to other frontier models – ICON aims to further develop and deploy agents embedded directly within clinical trial workflows, securely and responsibly.

Barry Balfe, Chief Executive Officer of ICON plc, said, “The industry is moving to AI as core infrastructure, and we are determined to be at the forefront of this transition to the next generation of clinical trials. Our partnership with Microsoft is an important step in our strategy to lead the CRO industry, providing us with productivity tools, and a data foundation to further scale Orbis at speed, enabling our teams to work more intelligently, faster and deliver better outcomes for customers, sites and patients.”