KING OF PRUSSIA, PA, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MDS Pharma Services, a leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, has won the Good Clinical Practice Journal (GCPj) Award for the clinical research program that best promotes access to new medicines. This award is one of a series of inaugural GCPj awards introduced this year to recognize excellence in clinical research. MDS Pharma Services received this award during a ceremony in London where it was recognized for its successful management of a large-scale Phase III malaria drug trial involving more than 2,700 patients in Laos, India, Thailand, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia. The compound studied by MDS Pharma Services is relatively low-cost and has the potential to become a major breakthrough in the treatment of malaria, a deadly mosquito-borne disease prevalent in the world's poorest countries. According to the World Health Organization, malaria kills more than one million people each year and there are between 350 and 500 million clinical episodes of this disease occurring annually. This high incidence rate is fueled by malaria's growing resistance to existing drugs. This malaria clinical trial was conducted by MDS Pharma Services on behalf of an international collaboration between Sigma-Tau, a leading pharmaceutical company based in Italy; the non-profit Medicines for Malaria Venture, which is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; China's Chongqing Holley pharmaceutical company; and Britain's Oxford University. "At Sigma-Tau, we appreciate the challenges in carrying out a large global trial," said Sigma-Tau Medical Department Director Marco Corsi. "The successful completion of this trial was made possible by both the professionalism of the MDS people managing the trial and the personal commitment of all participants to improve the treatment of malaria - a neglected but deadly disease." "We are really honoured by this recognition of MDS Pharma Services' role in the effort to find an easy-to-use, affordable and effective treatment for this devastating disease," said MDS Pharma Services President David Spaight. "Infectious diseases, such as HIV and malaria, are key pharmaceutical research areas that have the potential to benefit large numbers of patients around the world." About MDS Pharma 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 numerous facilities strategically located around the world, we apply advanced scientific and technological expertise throughout the drug discovery and development process - from lead optimization, pre-IND research, early clinical research (bioequivalence, phases I-IIa) and bioanalysis through to global clinical development (phases IIb-IV), central lab and centralized cardiac services. For more information, visit our website at http://www.mdsps.com/. MDS Pharma Services is a business unit of MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ), a global life sciences company that provides market-leading products and services that our customers need for the development of drugs and diagnosis and treatment of disease. We are a leading global provider of pharmaceutical contract research, medical isotopes for molecular imaging, radiotherapeutics, and analytical instruments. MDS has more than 6,200 highly skilled people in 28 countries. Find out more at http://www.mdsinc.com/ or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day. DATASOURCE: MDS Pharma Services CONTACT: For Investors, Sharon Mathers, (416) 675-6777 ext. 34721, ; For Media, Charlene McGrady, (610) 239-7900 ext. 231,

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