MDS Pharma Services Expands Drug Development Programs Staff

(Montreal, Canada. January 16, 2004) — MDS Pharma Services, a leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, has named Paul Chamberlain, Guy Chamberland, Ian Dews, Malle Jurima-Romet, Bruce Morimoto and Douglas Wight program directors and Michel Roy program manager for Drug Development Programs, announced J. Fred Pritchard, Ph.D., vice president, Drug Development Programs. Drug Development Programs incorporates a focused group of the company's senior scientific consultants who are responsible for driving the implementation of each client's drug development plan.

"As pharmaceutical and biotech companies become more reliant on solutions partners like MDS Pharma Services for research and development, we are taking the critical steps needed to ensure that we can continue to meet their demand for integrated development programs," said Doug Squires, president and CEO.

In his new role as biopharmaceutics program director, Paul Chamberlain will lead the planning and execution of fully integrated drug development programs for the company's biopharmaceutical clients. He has experience with a wide spectrum of biological-based product types, including cell-based therapeutic vaccines and tissue-engineered products. Before joining MDS Pharma Services in 2001 as a senior regulatory consultant, Chamberlain held positions at Sanofi Winthrop, Metris Therapeutics, Amgen and SmithKline Beecham.

Guy Chamberland brings practical knowledge and relevant experience to this MDS Pharma Services team. He will utilize his toxicology expertise and regulations knowledge to build clinical drug development strategies from preclinical information. Dr. Chamberland has held previous positions with Angiogene, Aeterna, Cato, International Toxicology Research (ITR) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

European program director and physician Ian Dews applies his clinical expertise to program designs and coordinating input from external experts for programs involving diabetes, asthma, oncology and cardiovascular disease. He also has considerable experience with European Regulatory Affairs, having prepared many clinical expert reports for new drug candidates. Dr. Dews joined MCRC (now MDS Pharma Services) in 1987 as a medical advisor.

Dr. Harris was affiliated with many professional societies serving as president of the American Council of Independent Laboratories and the Animal Health Institute, and serving in integral roles for the American association of Clinical Chemists, the American Chemical Society, the Associates of Clinical Pharmacology, the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, and the American Pharmaceutical Association. Dr. Harris also published many papers in the industry press and conducted seminars throughout the United States.

As a newly appointed program director for Drug Development Programs, Dr. Malle Jurima-Romet's expertise in early drug development particularly in drug metabolism and cell biology, reputation in the scientific community and experience in working within a regulatory environment will provide an excellent foundation for leading clients' drug development efforts. Before joining MDS Pharma Services in 1999, she worked for the Drugs Directorate of the Health Protection Branch in Ottawa, Canada.

Dr. Bruce Morimoto possesses considerable experience in successfully guiding products from lead optimization through IND filings. Morimoto has worked as the director of drug development for Neuromed Technologies, director of business development for Phoenix International (now MDS Pharma Services) and director of drug discovery for Amur Pharmaceuticals.

Douglas Wight brings extensive experience in clinical research to his new role as a program director and facilitator of drug development activities for clients. He previously held the position of business development director for MDS Pharma Services. Before joining the company, Wight was employed by Searle Canada, Sandoz Canada and Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal, Canada.

Michel Roy joins Drug Development Programs as the first program manager based in the company's Montreal, Quebec, site. Roy has held positions in project management and business development with MDS Pharma Services and ITR and has worked in health economics for Pfizer Canada.

MDS Pharma Services offers a full spectrum of resources to meet the drug discovery and development needs of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. With numerous facilities strategically located around the world, the company applies advanced scientific and technological expertise to each stage of the drug discovery and development process - early stage: lead optimization, pre-IND research and development, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical development, early clinical research (bioequivalence, phases I-IIa) and bioanalysis; and late stage: global clinical development (phases IIb-IV) and central lab. For more information, visit MDS Pharma Services' Web site at www.mdsps.com.

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.

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For further information, please contact Kevin Langin, MDS Pharma Services, 621 Rose Street, Lincoln, Neb., Tel: (402) 476-2811, and visit our Web site at www.mdsps.com.