KING OF PRUSSIA, Pennsylvania, August 1 /PRNewswire/ -- MDS Pharma Services, a leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, announced today the expansion of its Development & Regulatory Services (DRS) business in Europe. MDS Pharma Services will now offer full-service DRS consulting services to support development of new drugs and biopharmaceutical products for clients in Europe.

The MDS Pharma Services' European DRS organization will also be fully integrated with consultants in the United States and Canada to provide product development consulting, program management, and regulatory affairs services for new drugs and biopharmaceutical products.

"This expansion in Europe will greatly broaden our consulting capabilities in development and regulatory services," said MDS Pharma Services President David Spaight. "We will now be able to provide expertise to support our biotechnology and Asian pharmaceutical clients in the process of commercializing their products in North American and European markets."

This European expansion is being supported by the appointments of two industry experts, Dr. Didier Saur, MD as Vice-President of Medical Affairs, and Dr. Sarah Roberts, Ph.D. as Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs.

Based near Paris in Sèvres, France, Dr. Saur will lead the MDS Pharma Services product development consulting, program management, and regulatory affairs services for drugs and biopharmaceutical products in Europe. He will also be responsible for organizing and chairing the Medical Advisory Board for DRS. Dr. Saur has more than 20 years experience as a physician in the pharmaceutical and contract research industry. Trained in internal and intensive care medicine, clinical pharmacology and statistics, he is a specialist in cardiovascular and metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity.

Based in Winnersh, near London, Dr. Roberts will provide expert regulatory affairs consulting for clients on European regulatory issues. An oncology research specialist with more than 10 years experience, Dr. Roberts has worked with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts and the Gray Cancer Institute in London, England. She has considerable experience with regulatory agencies in both North America and Europe, and most recently served as a Director for Smart Regulatory Solutions Ltd, an independent consulting firm she established.

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 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 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 www.mdsinc.com or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.