Robert L. Challender Joins MDS Pharma Services as VP Finance - Late Stage Development at its King of Prussia Executive Offices MONTREAL, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MDS Pharma Services, a leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, has hired Robert L. Challender as vice president for Finance - Late Stage Development, effective September 1, 2004. Based in the MDS Pharma Services executive offices in King of Prussia, Pa., Challender brings additional strength and depth to the global Finance team. "Bob has established a solid record of developing and executing income enhancing strategies and cost management initiatives," says Alan Horgan, group Vice President. "He has 15 years of experience in all areas of finance and accounting, and a decade of experience in our industry." Prior to joining MDS Pharma Services, Challender served five years as CFO for the global Clinical Development Services division of Covance, Inc. in Princeton, N.J. He played a key role in reorganizing the division's three regional operating groups into one internationally managed operation. In addition, Challender managed several non-finance related functions during his tenure at Covance, including the Contract Management, Real Estate and Facilities, and the Proposal Development departments. He holds an MBA and BA in Computer Science from Rutgers University. 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 part of MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ), an international health and life sciences company. At MDS Inc., our 10,000 highly skilled people provide services, products and instruments enabling health sciences organizations to enhance the well being of people around the world. We focus on helping discover and test new drugs, assisting doctors to diagnose and treat patients and preventing the spread of disease. Find out more about MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ), at http://www.mdsintl.com/ or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day. DATASOURCE: MDS Pharma Services; MDS Inc. CONTACT: or to receive a high-resolution photograph of Robert L. Chandler suitable for print reproduction, please contact Charlene McGrady, MDS Pharma Services, 2200 Renaissance Boulevard, King of Prussia, Penn., Tel: (610) 239-7900, ext. 231, and visit our Web site at http://www.mdsps.com/

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