Quality
ICON is committed to exceeding the quality standards demanded by our customers, patients and regulatory authorities.
Quality is the cornerstone of our success. The quality of our work is vital to our mission of bringing better medications and treatments to patients around the world. We are committed to maintaining, supporting, checking and improving our quality systems to exceed the quality standards demanded by our customers, patients and regulatory authorities.
In the last five years* we have successfully completed:
-
4,060
Sponsor audits -
1,151
Supplier audits
-
12,181
Internal audits -
641
Regulatory inspections
*2020 to Aug 2024
The quality of our work is vital to our mission of bringing better medications to patients around the world. We are committed to maintaining, supporting, checking and improving our quality systems to exceed the quality standards demanded by our clients, patients and regulatory authorities.
2024 CRO Leadership Awards: Quality
ICON has been recognised for 'having exceeded customer expectations' for 'data quality' in the 2024 CRO Leadership Awards. ICON was the most awarded CRO across over 20 performance metrics.
These awards are the result of an annual CRO Quality benchmarking research conducted via an online survey, by ISR. 46 service providers were evaluated on 20+ different performance metrics.
Quality Management System
ICON’s Quality Management System (QMS) comprises our mechanisms for ensuring that all our services are performed to the highest ethical standards, conform to all relevant regulatory requirements and satisfy contractual obligations. The QMS is based on continual improvement, with ongoing measurement of process performance to determine the effectiveness of the QMS.
The sequence and interaction of each process are defined within ICON process documentation, including the methods for control and the metrics for measuring overall effectiveness. It is proactive, data-driven and capable of detecting signals and trends, profiling and addressing risks to keep projects Inspection ready at all times. ICON's comprehensive quality system is constructed from the following key elements:
- Process
- Compliance
- Quality Assurance
- Risk
- Analytics & Reporting
The key elements are further defined in the graphic below:
Standard Operating Procedures
ICON has a comprehensive library of global Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) which:
- Ensure that all client requirements are met
- Enable employees to conform to and document GxP, and Regulatory requirements
- Ensure that all company activities are controlled and documented
- Provide guidance for staff development and training
All ICON's activities are conducted in compliance with these global procedures and, when necessary, office-specific or region-specific procedures may be prepared. In addition, we have the flexibility to operate with our client's SOPs when requested.
SOPs are reviewed regularly for continuing suitability and are updated as required. All our SOPs are available for viewing in any of our offices.
Quality Assurance Services
In addition to providing in-house Quality Assurance auditing for clinical trials, the Quality Assurance department provides stand-alone services to support companies to develop, implement and maintain quality management systems to assure the highest standard of conformance to GCP, GVP (Pharmacovigilance), GMP and GLP regulations.
ICON has the resources to meet all your auditing requirements for both Medical Device and Drug including Early Clinical, and Phase II - IV clinical trials and post-marketing activities. With QA auditing personnel located across Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, the ICON QA team is flexible enough audit global programs as well as provide individual and personalised service for locally managed projects.
The following QA services are provided on a stand-alone or project-specific basis. Audits/ assessments cover:
- Phase I - IV GCP audits
- Medical Device audits
- Laboratories (GCP, GLP, GCLP)
- SDLC and Computer validation
- Technical and operational vendor/supplier audits, assessments and qualifications
- Investigational site audits and inspection preparatory assessments
- Safety Surveillance/Pharmacovigilance