MDS Pharma Services Wins Award for Management of Global Malaria Trial
07 Septembre 2007 - 2:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
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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