ICON plc Lehman Brothers Eighth Annual Global Healthcare Conference March 30 th 2005 ICON plc Lehman Brothers Eighth Annual Global Healthcare Conference March 30 th

Overview Certain statements contained herein including, without limitation, statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “expects” and words of similar import, constitute forward-looking statements concerning the Company's operations, performance, financial condition and prospects. Because such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward Looking Statements

Snapshot Fourth largest Clinical CRO in the world Quintiles PPD Parexel ICON Over $300m in Net Revenues Approx 2700 staff 37 offices in 23 countries on five continents

Asia Areas of Operation North America Latin America Africa Europe Eastern Europe Australasia

Offices: EU Manchester Marlow Eastleigh Dublin Barcelona Paris Amsterdam Riga Stockholm Moscow Budapest Tel Aviv Frankfurt

Offices: US Chicago Houston Nashville Tampa San Francisco Irvine Baltimore Raleigh-Durham New York City Long Island Philadelphia Delaware

Offices: ROW Planned 04/05 Sydney Buenos Aires Johannesburg Taiwan Seoul Bangkok Singapore Chennai Tokyo Hong Kong Montreal Beijing

Full Service Drug Development Pre-clinicalPhase IPhase IIPhase IIILaunchPhase IV 6% Strategic Drug Development and Regulatory Consulting (US & EU) 5% Phase I 8% Central lab (Global) 16% Data Management & Statistical Consulting (Global) 57% Trial Management & Monitoring (Global) 2.5% Contract Staffing (US) 2.5% Central Imaging Lab (US & EU) 3% IVRS (Global)

ICON plc Market Dynamics ICON plc Market Dynamics

Strong Fundamentals Supporting Growth Growth in Underlying spending (1) Total 2005 R&D spend estimated at > $82bn; 10% growth forecast to continue Total 2005 Development Spend estimated at >$54bn; 11% growth forecast Continued growth in outsourcing (1) Industry estimated to outsource approximately 27% of development and growing by 1% per annum. Market growth estimated at 14% (1) Source Jeffries & Co.

Strong Market Environment Preferred Providers Improving Pipelines Biotech / Specialty Companies Regulatory Environment

Bio-Tech, Mid-Sized and Japanese companies are increasingly significant Biotech and specialty companies account for a growing percentage of projects in development: 55% of 2002 Clinical trials are derived from biotech companies. Currently estimated to be more compounds in development in biotech/specialty than in all of Top 20 Pharma ICON’s sales to non Top 20 pharma companies have been rising strongly: 21% 26% 35% 39% 40% 42% Scope for Growth

RFP Volume / Value Trends – Global Clinical Cumulative YTD (9 months) v Prior comp.periodwww.iconclinical.com RFP Value GrowthRFP Volume Growth

ICON Gross Business Wins Last 9 Quarters

Total Backlog $Millions

ICON plc Financial Performance (Fiscal Years ending May 31)

Net Revenue CAGR of 38% over last 5 Years CAGR 38%

CAGR =35% 7 Years of Earnings Per Share Growth….

…However, ICON Has Traditionally Experienced Low Cancellation Rates but in Q1 05…… Cancellations as % of Opening Backlog $46m cancellations inc. 2 major projects

Quarterly Revenue and Operating Profit

Quarterly EPS FY2000FY2001FY2005FY2004FY2003FY2002

Summary Balance Sheet and Cashflow ($ millions) Feb 28, 2005May 31, 2004 (Year) Cash and cash equivalents$70.9$78.8 Total assets$365.9$335.3 Total debt$0.0 Shareholder’s equity$231.1$216.8 Cashflow from operations$10.6$43.6 Capital expenditures$10.3$13.1 Fully diluted shares outstanding

Current Issues / Strategic Development

Current Tactical Issues Recovery from Exceptional Cancellation Quarter to Restore Growth Net Wins $120m in Nov Qtr and $106m in Feb ’05 Qtr Good net wins again needed in May quarter ($115m –$130m) Capitalise on Lab Investments and Sales Success to Eliminate Losses Continue Sales Success Add more major clients Develop technological base Restore Phase I business to profit post EU Clinical Trials Directive

ICON LABS Net New Business Wins Net Business Wins Book to Bill Ratio Average Book-to-Bill 1.4

Strategic Mission To continue to develop our business as a global, full service, clinically focused CRO, and to leverage the synergies between our multiple services.

Use “Full Service” to Leverage Client Relationships and Capture more of the Spend Strategic Product Development / Consulting 6% Strategic Product Development / Consulting 6% Clinical Trial Management Phase II – IV 57% Clinical Trial Management Phase II – IV 57% Phase I 5% Phase I 5% Central Laboratory 8% Central Laboratory 8% IVRS 2.5% IVRS 2.5% Contract Staff 3% Contract Staff 3% Central Imaging Lab 2.5% Central Imaging Lab 2.5% Data Management & Biostatistics 16% Data Management & Biostatistics 16%

Current Strategic Initiatives Investing in Operations in Japan Creation of Data Management Operation in India Partnership with Medidata Solutions in EDC Developing specialised Phase IV Division New IT in 2005 to enhance efficiency New Trial Management and Project Collaboration Systems New Document Management System New eLearning System

Current Acquisition / Investment Focus Central Labs to increase scale Additional Central Imaging Expertise to broaden offering Phase I in US to compliment EU facility Analytical Labs to compliment EU facility New Expertise in any of core areas to add scale / unique expertise

Organic Get more business from current clients Add new clients Sell more new services - IVRS/Lab/Consulting/Phase I Expand global presence Increase therapeutic experience Acquisitions Add new services and broaden existing ones Goal To be the best full service clinical CRO Future Development