Icon, a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, has announced that its Firecrest training meets TransCelerate BioPharma’s minimum criteria for International Conference on Harmonization Good Clinical Practice (ICH/GCP) training.

TransCelerate-certified GCP training enables investigators to complete GCP training that is mutually acceptable by all TransCelerate member companies. Investigators completing the training will avoid having to repeatedly complete pre-qualification GCP training for every trial and can instead focus on study-specific activities that accelerate the delivery of therapies to patients.

Icon’s Firecrest GCP training offers some unique capabilities that currently are unavailable in other GCP training programs. Sponsors can assign training requirements per specific job role, track training compliance and notify users of overdue training or re-certification due dates. In addition, the program offers enhanced reporting capabilities that allow biopharma companies to analyse and report completion metrics at a region, site or role level.

Dr. Steve Cutler, chief operating officer, Icon, said, “Icon’s Firecrest technology platform delivers an innovative suite of training, performance support and study management tools which have proven to enhance the compliance, consistency and execution of study-related activities by study personnel. We are pleased that the TransCelerate member companies recognize that our Firecrest GCP training module reflects their best practices for training.”

TransCelerate BioPharma is a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating and simplifying the research and development of innovative new therapies. The organizations' mission is to collaborate across the global biopharmaceutical R&D community to identify, prioritize, design and facilitate implementation of solutions designed to drive the efficient, effective and high quality delivery of new medicines. The founding member companies are AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, the Roche Group and Sanofi. Additional members that have joined since the inception of TransCelerate include Allergan, Astellas Pharma, Biogen Idec, Cubist Pharmaceuticals, EMD Serono, Forest Research Institute, Medgenics, Shionogi and UCB.