ICON, a global provider of drug development solutions and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, has announced senior appointments to its clinical research, medical imaging and commercialization and outcomes services. Dr. Andrew Garrett has been appointed executive vice president, Scientific Operations, Dr. Paul McCracken has joined ICON as vice president, Medical Imaging and Jim Carroll has been appointed vice president, Real World Evidence (RWE).

Dr. Andrew Garrett has over 30 years’ experience within the pharmaceutical and CRO industries. As ICON’s EVP, Scientific Operations, Dr. Garrett has global responsibility for the strategic vision and operational execution of ICON’s scientific operations, including biostatistics and programming, pharmacovigilance, regulatory and medical affairs, medical writing, medical imaging and interactive technologies. Dr. Garrett joins ICON from Quintiles, where he led the global clinical analysis and reporting services group, and, prior to that, a number of biostatistics and data management roles. Dr. Garrett is a recognized thought leader in data-driven decision making and recently led a structural review of the methodology function of the UK’s Office for National Statistics to improve its ability to drive innovation and help equip it for the digital economy.

Dr. Paul McCracken brings to ICON over 20 years’ experience in imaging and pharmaceuticals, with a strong track record of applying imaging and biomarkers to drug discovery and development across a range of therapeutic areas. Dr. McCracken joins ICON from Eisai, where he led the Imaging Centre of Excellence, which drives novel approaches for discovery targets and translational biomarkers, primarily through the introduction of imaging genetics and the acceleration of novel PET approaches. Prior to Eisai, Paul worked at Merck Research Laboratories, where he developed preclinical and translational imaging biomarkers and strategies to assess new molecular and biologic entities.

Jim Carroll leads ICON’s RWE Center of Excellence, which develops real world data (RWD) and technology based solutions to support sponsors who are seeking to expand labelling and market access, while staying ahead of the growing demand for evidentiary requirements. Jim has over 20 years’ CRO and pharmaceutical experience and joins ICON from inVentiv Health, where he led the formation of a new business unit focused on providing novel RWD-driven services. Jim previously worked at IMS Health (now QuintilesIMS), where he led the development and commercialization of innovative RWD-based, global analytic solutions to improve decision outcomes across the biopharmaceutical product lifecycle.

Commenting on the appointments, Dr. Steve Cutler, ICON’s chief operating officer, said, “I’m delighted to welcome Andrew, Paul and Jim to the ICON team. They bring a wealth of scientific operational, and commercialization expertise to ICON which will help us to advance our clients’ products through their development pipelines and also drive their commercial success.”