MDS Pharma Services Expands Ligand Binding Laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska

(Montreal, Canada. February 25, 2003) — MDS Pharma Services, a premier provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, has announced plans to more than double its ligand binding capabilities at its bioanalysis facility in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, announced Gilbert Godin, president, Early Clinical Research and Bioanalysis. He said the expansion was prompted by the fact that more biologically based drugs are coming through the drug development pipeline which best utilize a portfolio of ligand binding based assays to speed product development.

"MDS Pharma Services offers ligand binding analysis at three major sites around the world – Lincoln, Zurich, Switzerland and Montreal, Quebec," said Godin. "We continue to lead our competition in this capital-intensive field by investing in this new technology at all three locations to support our clients in the early phases of drug development." He said this type of service is of critical interest to pharmaceutical companies and is considered a 'leading edge' method for getting biotechnology products to the market faster by, for example, acquiring improved insight into biomarkers of clinical value.

James Hulse, Ph.D., senior vice president and general manager, Bioanalysis, said the Lincoln expansion is a natural outgrowth of the company’s ongoing investment in its facilities around the world. "In addition to meeting our growth objectives, this project is a central part of our commitment to meeting client expectations for maintaining scale and technology in ways that are meaningful to our clients in terms of speed, consistency and quality," Hulse said.

He said that by dedicating additional space, equipment and people to the company’s ligand binding capabilities in Lincoln and across the company, MDS Pharma Services can provide the same operating and regulatory standards at all locations, compressing the time it takes to deliver a drug to market, which is an extremely valuable commodity for its clients.

"With the cost to develop a new drug estimated to be more than $800 million, time savings equate to cost savings in the millions as well as improved revenue potential by getting the drug on the market sooner," he said.

"MDS is a growth-oriented company," said Godin, "and such growth is fueled by projects like this which incorporate expanded facilities, new technologies and improved capabilities."

Hulse noted that MDS Pharma Services teams its technology with the top minds in the industry and with academia to develop the most effective methods. "We collaborate with universities at each of our locations in Lincoln, Montreal and Zurich to continually develop new bioanalytical methods."

Godin added that MDS Pharma Services works closely with the developers of leading-edge analytical technology, such as sister company MDS Sciex, to ensure the company is continually assessing and equipping itself with the most advanced equipment available.

"Our ligand binding staff of 75 scientists worldwide is highly experienced in the analysis of large molecules as applied to both pharmacokinetic analysis and biomarkers," Hulse said.

The company provides a comprehensive range of ligand binding services to satisfy client needs in the high-sensitivity analysis of large molecular pharmaceuticals and endogenous compounds, including immunochemistry; techniques in RIAs, ELISAs, electrochemiluminescence (ECL) and enzyme assays; assay development, improvement, and validation; immuno assays from de novo developed antibodies, as well as those based on commercially available reagents; sample analysis; and other services.

MDS Pharma Services offers a full spectrum of resources to meet the drug discovery and development needs of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. With 37 facilities in 21 countries, the company applies advanced scientific and technological expertise to each stage of the drug discovery and development process: discovery, preclinical, early clinical research (bioequivalence, phases I-IIa), bioanalysis, global clinical research (phases IIb-IV), and central lab.

MDS Pharma Services is part of MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ), an international health and life sciences company. In many of its products and services, it is among the largest and most respected companies in the world. MDS is focused on enhancing the health of people around the world. It does this by providing laboratory testing, imaging products and research services to speed discovery and development of new drugs, therapy systems for planning and delivery of cancer treatments, analytical instruments to assist in the development of new drugs, and medical/surgical supplies. MDS employs more than 10,000 highly skilled people in its global operations on five continents. Detailed information about the company is available at the MDS web site at www.mdsintl.com or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.