PHILADELPHIA, PA, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - MDS Pharma Services, a leading provider of innovative drug discovery and development solutions, has been selected as the preferred contract research organization (CRO) of the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC). MDS Pharma Services will manage multiple MMRC pre-clinical and clinical research efforts, including data management related to the MMRC’s tissue collection program. The MMRC will also recommend MDS Pharma Services to industry partners as additional protocols are brought through the Consortium.
“MDS Pharma Services is proud to have been chosen by the MMRC and we are ready to bring our global capabilities and oncology expertise to bear on the effort to fight multiple myeloma,” says Alan Morgan, vice president and general manager for Global Clinical Development.
An incurable but treatable disease, multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cell and the second most prevalent blood cancer after non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Approximately 50,000 people in the United States live with multiple myeloma and each year an estimated 11,070 people die from the disease in the United States.
“After I was diagnosed with myeloma, I worked with the scientific community to create the MMRC, which seeks to accelerate drug development and myeloma research by linking leading academic institutions through membership agreements, customized IT systems, and an integrated tissue bank,” says MMRC founder Kathy Giusti. “I’m pleased that MDS Pharma Services will be able to lend its global capability and oncology focus as the preferred CRO for the MMRC.”
About the MMRC
Founded in 2004, the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) is a 509a3 non-profit organization created to establish an optimal research model to rapidly address critical challenges in accelerating drug development and explore opportunities in the most promising areas of myeloma research - genomics, compound validation, and clinical trials. It is comprised of the MMRC and seven member institutions: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Mayo Clinic, University Health Network (Princess Margaret Hospital), Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute, University of Chicago and St. Vincent’s Comprehensive Cancer Center of Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers of New York. For more information, please visit http://www.themmrc.org.
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, 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 www.mdsps.com.
MDS Pharma Services is an integral part of MDS Inc. . MDS Inc. has more than 8,800 highly skilled people in 27 countries. We provide a diverse range of superior products and services to increase our customers’ speed, precision and productivity in the drug development and disease diagnosis processes. We are a global, values-driven life sciences company, recognized for our reliability and collaborative relationships as we help create better outcomes in the treatment of disease. Find out more at www.mdsinc.com or by calling 1-800-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.
MDS Pharma Services
CONTACT: For Investors: Sharon Mathers, (416) 675-6777 ext. 2695,smathers@mdsintl.com; For Media: Charlene McGrady, (610) 239-7900, ext.231, Charlene.Mcgrady@mdsps.com
