[0] MDS Pharma Services and InnaPhase Collaborate to Enhance Early Drug Development Worldwide.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

MONTREAL & PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2001

InnaPhase Corporation, the first and only provider of end-to-end software solutions for early drug development teams, and MDS Pharma Services, the third largest contract research organization (CRO) in the world, have signed a global license agreement to implement InnaPhase's Watson(TM) Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS).

The Watson LIMS will be implemented in five MDS bioanalytical research facilities worldwide: two in Montreal, Canada; one in Zurich, Switzerland; and two in the United States (Lincoln, Neb. and Sunnyvale, Calif.).

The Watson LIMS system is specifically designed to support Bioanalytical/DMPK (Drug Metabolism/Pharmacokinetic) studies in drug development and maintains regulatory compliance with the FDA's 21 CFR Part 11 guidance on electronic records and signatures. Watson has been developed in conjunction with major pharmaceutical companies to accelerate bioanalysis and sample management in drug development.

"As a leading contract research organization, our clients expect rapid data turnaround and outstanding quality. The Watson LIMS allows us to standardize our reporting processes and manage our bioanalytical projects effectively to maintain our high level of customer service," said Jim Hulse, senior vice president, Bioanalytical Services at MDS Pharma Services. "With Watson, we will be able to coordinate more than 400 users and more than 100 advanced analytical instruments in our bioanalytical laboratories throughout the world."

"The Watson LIMS provides an integrated environment that standardizes laboratory processes and automatically generates data in an accurate, consistent manner," said Gary Rathsmill, senior vice president, Product Research of InnaPhase Corporation. "Knowledge management at this level results in significant time and cost savings allowing companies like MDS to become more competitive."

InnaPhase Corporation is a worldwide leader in software technology for early drug development. Its software solutions are rapidly becoming the industry standard for preclinical and clinical pharmacology and help integrate early drug development data into enterprise-wide knowledge that fosters better decisions, sooner.

With 15 years of scientific experience in advanced software and clinical database technologies, InnaPhase provides solutions for more than 800 customers in 45 countries, creating a competitive edge that allows customers to maximize their drug development pipeline. InnaPhase has locations in the United States, Canada, France and the UK.

For more information, see InnaPhase on the worldwide web at www.innaphase.com.

As the global leader in bioanalytical services, MDS Pharma Services offers extensive expertise in method development, rapid sample analysis, custom assay development, biochemical markers, and statistical and pharmacokinetic services. This advanced technology, along with highly-skilled scientific staff and extensive emphasize on customer service, ensure reliable client solutions.

With bioanalytical laboratories worldwide, equipped with more than 70 LC/MS/MS instruments, and over 700 available assays, MDS Pharma Services rapidly delivers accurate results.

MDS Pharma Services offers a full spectrum of resources to meet the drug discovery and development needs of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

With facilities in more than 17 countries, the company applies advanced scientific and technological expertise to each stage of the drug discovery and development process: discovery, preclinical, early clinical research (phases I-IIa), bioanalytical, global clinical research (phases IIb-IV), and central laboratory. More information about MDS Pharma Services can be found at www.mdsps.com.

MDS Pharma Services is a part of MDS Inc., an international health and life sciences company. The MDS focus is on using science to advance health, to fight disease.

It does this by providing: laboratory testing, imaging agents for nuclear medicine testing, sterilization systems for medical and consumer products, research services to speed discovery and development of new drugs, therapy systems for planning and delivery of cancer treatment, analytical instruments to assist in the development of new drugs, and medical/surgical supplies.

MDS employs more than 10,000 highly skilled people at its global operations on five continents. Detailed information about the company is available at www.mdsintl.com or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.