KING OF PRUSSIA, PA, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MDS Pharma Services, a leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, has become a major corporate sponsor of the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and its work to fight childhood cancer. According to the US National Institutes of Health, cancer is the second leading cause of childhood death after accidents in the United States. This corporate sponsorship reflects MDS Pharma Services' long-standing therapeutic focus on oncology research. It also fits with the MDS Pharma Services' brand promise of on-time delivery to expedite drug discovery and development, a promise which aligns with the Foundation's focus on curing childhood cancer. Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation is a unique organization that traces its roots back to July 2000, when a four-year-old cancer patient sold lemonade in her front yard to raise money for pediatric cancer research. For the next four years, despite deteriorating health, Alexandra (Alex) Scott set up a lemonade stand annually and inspired others to do the same. By the time she passed away at the age of eight in August 2004, Alex had raised more than $1 million. The foundation that bears her name continues her vision of "fighting childhood cancer, one cup at a time." By September of this year, the Foundation had raised more than $15 million for childhood cancer research. It provides grants to support basic oncology research, career development for oncology researchers, and improved availability of new treatments. "MDS Pharma Services is proud to be the first contract research organization to become a major corporate sponsor of the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation," said MDS Pharma Services President David Spaight. "Our sponsorship puts a human face on the work we do to support oncology drug discovery and development. The possibility of contributing to advances in treatments for cancer and other diseases inspires our MDS Pharma Services team every day." This sponsorship will support two Foundation grant programs: The Pediatric Oncology Program Infrastructure Awards and the Young Investigator Awards. The first program provides funding to hire support personnel to expedite enrollment of children with cancer in clinical trials. The second program provides start-up funds to allow new researchers and physicians to pursue promising avenues of investigation. To date, the Foundation has funded more than 42 pediatric cancer research projects at 30 US institutions. "We know what a difference new advances in cancer research can make; they gave Alex four extra years of life and inspired her to start raising money to help other children with difficult-to-treat cancers," said Alex's mother, Elizabeth Scott, who runs the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation with her husband Jay. "MDS Pharma Services is contributing to such advances through its sponsorship of the Foundation and the work that its employees do every day. Together, our organizations are offering hope and the gift of time to children with cancer." In addition to supporting two of the Foundation's grant programs, MDS Pharma Services will encourage employees at its more than three dozen locations around the world to set up Alex's Lemonade Stands in 2008. Employees will be encouraged to take part in the Foundation's Fifth Annual Lemonade Days from June 6 through 8. During these Lemonade Days, an estimated 10,000 volunteers are expected to organize more than 1,000 Alex's Lemonade Stands coast to coast in the United States. Visit http://www.alexslemonade.org/ to learn more about the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. About MDS Pharma Services MDS Pharma Services is retooling key parts of its operations to deliver on-time performance. The business 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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