>>MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 2003--MDS Pharma Services, a leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, today announced the introduction of its new drug development program for therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, offered through the company's Drug Development Programs service. The integrated program is designed to minimize the risk and maximize the efficiency of guiding a monoclonal antibody (mAb) compound through molecular design, mAb pharmacology, manufacturing process design, product quality control and non-clinical and clinical development. Key decision gates addressing viability, developability, safety and efficacy are also addressed.
"Monoclonal antibodies are becoming increasingly valuable therapeutic agents in the treatment of cancer, arthritis and infectious disease," said Doug Squires, Ph.D., president and CEO, "and there is growing interest in their commercial development due to a better understanding of how antibodies and the immune system function in these major disease states, along with recent advances in technologies for creating and producing antibody products."
Squires said the majority of research and development in monoclonal antibodies is in cancer, followed by infection, autoimmune diseases, HIV and rheumatoid arthritis.
"Less than one-third of all new therapeutic entities produce enough revenue to recoup development costs and these financial pressures are felt even more acutely with large molecule drugs such as monoclonal antibodies, since their development time and special regulatory issues are often more daunting than those associated with small-molecule drugs, which make up the bulk of pharmaceutical development," Squires said.
J. Fred Pritchard, Ph.D., vice president, Drug Development Programs, said humanized and fully human antibodies have potential clinical and commercial advantages over traditional therapies, including faster product development, fewer unwanted side effects, increased patient compliance, higher efficacy, and their ability to deliver a variety of payloads, including drugs, radionuclides and toxins, to specific disease sites.
"Our approach to drug development programs involves a decision-based strategy that provides clients with cost-efficient drug development and optimal risk management," said Pritchard. "The fact that we offer both the consultative expertise and the execution provides accountability for the management and conduct of the program and increases our clients' prospects for success."
MDS Pharma Services Drug Development Programs enhances the company's long-standing tradition of providing integrated drug development services, incorporating a focused group of senior consultants who are responsible for driving the implementation of each client's drug development plan.
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 and development, 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 www.mdsps.com.
MDS Pharma Services is part of MDS Inc. (TSX:MDS - News; NYSE:MDZ - News), an international health and life sciences company. In many of its products and services, it is among the largest and most respected companies in the world. MDS is focused on enhancing the health of people around the world. It does this by providing laboratory testing, imaging products and research services to speed discovery and development of new drugs, therapy systems for planning and delivery of cancer treatments, analytical instruments to assist in the development of new drugs, and medical/surgical supplies. MDS employs more than 11,000 highly skilled people in its global operations on five continents. Detailed information about the company is available at the MDS Web site at www.mdsintl.com or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.
For further information, please contact Kevin Langin, MDS Pharma Services, 621 Rose Street, Lincoln, Neb., Tel: (402) 476-2811, and visit our Web site at www.mdsps.com. <<
Cheers, Tuck |
