OTTAWA, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MDS Nordion and Rosenergoatom, Russia, are pleased to announce they have entered into a long-term agreement for the supply of cobalt-60. This relationship ensures the continued supply of cobalt-60 for use in medical device sterilization and related applications to prevent infection and disease. Cobalt-60 is used to sterilize disposable medical devices and supplies such as surgeon's gloves, syringes, sutures and catheters, as well as pharmaceuticals, implants and tissue. Today approximately 45% of the single use medical devices produced worldwide are sterilized using cobalt-60 irradiation. The process, in use for more than 40 years, has been proven safe, reliable and highly effective, not only for sterilization, but also for pathogen reduction and disinfestation of food, treatment of cosmetic products and materials modification applications. Unlike some reactors that produce cobalt-60, the design of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plants power reactors allows cobalt-60 to be harvested while the reactor is in operation. This will allow MDS Nordion to more closely match cobalt-60 supply to customer demand, increasing the efficiency of the overall supply chain. "The medical device sterilization industry relies on MDS Nordion to continue investing in innovative relationships like this," said John Barker, CEO of Isotron. "This is a positive step for the whole gamma processing community." "Hundreds of millions of cubic feet of medical products are sterilized every year, demonstrating the important role cobalt-60 plays in protecting patients from harmful microorganisms," remarks Evgeny Gorbunov, Department Head, Radiation Technologies at Leninigrad Nuclear Power Plant, one of Rosenergoatom's power reactor facilities. "We have enjoyed an excellent relationship with MDS Nordion over the past ten years and are delighted to take this next significant step in our relationship, while playing a key role in the production of this critical material." "MDS Nordion is the world's largest supplier of cobalt-60, and with this agreement we can ensure a continued reliable supply to meet the growing needs of our customers," says Steve West, President of MDS Nordion. About Rosenergoatom Rosenergoatom was established by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation on September 7th 1992 as the operating utility of Russia's nuclear power plants. Rosenergoatom operates all 10 state-owned Russian nuclear power facilities with a total of 31 nuclear reactors and an installed electrical capacity 23,242 Megawatts. Rosenergoatom has also increased electric and thermal power output and recently commissioned two new power reactors; Volgodonsk-1 and Kalinin-3. More information may be found at http://eng.rosatom.ru/. About MDS Nordion MDS Nordion (http://www.mds.nordion.com/) is a world leader in radioisotopes, radiation and related technologies. MDS Nordion is part of MDS Inc. (TSX:MDS; NYSE:MDZ). MDS Inc. has more than 8,800 highly skilled people in 27 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.mdsinc.com/ or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day. DATASOURCE: MDS Nordion; MDS Inc. CONTACT: Shelley Maclean, External Communications, MDS Nordion, Tel: (613) 592-3400 ext. 2414, E-mail:

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