ICLR ICON PLC

ICON plc (NASDAQ: ICLR) announced today the pricing of a secondary offering of 1,000,000 of its American Depositary Shares ("ADSs"), representing ordinary shares, EUR 0.06 per share, at $63.50 per ADS. The ADSs being offered represent approximately 7% of ICON's total issued and outstanding share capital. The ADSs are being offered by Dr. Ronan Lambe, one of ICON's co-founders and a member of its board of directors, and Poplar Limited, the sole beneficial owner of which is Dr. John Climax, ICON's other co-founder and its Chairman. ICON will not receive any proceeds from the offering of the ADSs. The offering is expected to close on August 4, 2006, subject to customary conditions. William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is the sole book-running, lead manager of the offering. In addition, Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. and Jefferies & Company, Inc. are serving as co-managers of the offering. A prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained by writing to or telephoning William Blair & Company, L.L.C. at 222 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL 60606, +1-312-236-1600. A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any State in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such State. ICON plc is a contract research organization providing clinical research and development services on a global basis to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. As of June 30, 2006, ICON had approximately 3,600 employees and operations in 45 locations in 30 countries, including the United States and major markets in Europe and the rest of the world. The statements made in this Press Release may contain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In addition to the matters described in this Press Release, the ability to maintain large client contracts or enter into new contracts, maintain client relationships and the ability to manage the opening of new offices, the integration of new business mergers and acquisitions, as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in reports filed by ICON with the Securities Exchange Commission, including its Form 20-F, F-1, S-8 and F-3, may affect the actual results achieved by ICON. ICON disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. http://www.iconclinical.com