SYDNEY, Australia & PETALING JAYA, Malaysia, Jun 07, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- MDS Pharma Services, a leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, has announced the opening of new facilities in Sydney, Australia, and Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Under the leadership of Dr. Greg Voinov, MDS Pharma Services general manager of Asia-Pacific, these facilities offer global clinical development solutions and add to the company's growing presence in the region.

"The Asia-Pacific region is an emerging locale for clinical trials, and we are committed to meeting the industry's demands for the management of clinical trials in this area," said Dr. Voinov. "These two facilities also further solidify our worldwide clinical capabilities for phase II-IV studies."

Located in Pyrmont, Sydney, the new Australian facility offers prime access to clinical research sites, academic institutions, investigator networks and a significant patient population. The experienced staff at this site is ready to provide project management, clinical monitoring and regulatory submission services throughout Australia and New Zealand.

The new MDS Pharma Services Malaysian facility in Petaling Jaya, near Kuala Lumpur, was selected due to its strategic location near leading teaching hospitals and national clinical research sites, and exceptional access to investigators and patient groups. Staffed by an experienced team, this site also has the capabilities to effectively supply project management, clinical monitoring and regulatory submissions services.

In addition to the two new global clinical development facilities, MDS Pharma Services' presence in the Asia-Pacific region also includes central lab and global clinical development services in China and Singapore, centralized ECG services based in Singapore serving Asia and Australia, field-based capabilities in Thailand and pharmacology services in Taiwan. The company also has established partnerships for phase II-IV services in Australia, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

MDS Pharma Services now operates global clinical development sites on six continents, extending worldwide capabilities to their pharmaceutical and biotech clients. The company's phase II-IV service offerings include project management, site monitoring, data management, statistical analysis, medical writing, medical affairs, health economics, drug development programs and regulatory affairs.

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, 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 http://www.mdsps.com.

MDS Pharma Services is an integral part of MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ). MDS Inc. has more than 9,000 highly skilled people in 25 countries. We provide a diverse range of superior products and services to increase our customers' speed, precision and productivity in the drug development and disease diagnosis processes. We are a global, values-driven health and life sciences company, recognized for our reliability and collaborative relationships as we help create better outcomes in the treatment of disease. Find out more at http://www.mdsintl.com or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.

SOURCE: MDS Pharma Services

MDS Pharma Services
Kim Peacock
621 Rose Street, Lincoln, Neb.
(402) 476-2811
http://www.mdsps.com