MDS Pharma Services expands drug development programs staff

Montreal, QC – January 16, 2004 – MDS Pharma Services, a provider of drug discovery and development solutions, has named Paul Chamberlain, Guy Chamberland, Ian Dews, Malle Jurima-Romet, Bruce Morimoto and Douglas Wight program directors and Michel Roy program manager for drug development programs. The announcement was made by J Fred Pritchard, PhD, vice president, drug development programs.

The company’s drug development programs includes a focused group of the company’s senior scientific consultants who are responsible for driving the implementation of each client’s drug development plan.

“As pharmaceutical and biotech companies become more reliant on solutions partners like MDS Pharma Services for research and development, we are taking the critical steps needed to ensure that we can continue to meet their demand for integrated development programs,” says Doug Squires, president and CEO.

In his new role as biopharmaceutics program director, Paul Chamberlain will lead the planning and execution of fully integrated drug development programs for the company’s biopharmaceutical clients. He has experience with a wide spectrum of biological-based product types, including cell-based therapeutic vaccines and tissue-engineered products. Before joining MDS Pharma Services in 2001 as a senior regulatory consultant, Mr Chamberlain held positions at Sanofi Winthrop, Metris Therapeutics, Amgen and SmithKline Beecham.

Dr Guy Chamberland brings practical knowledge and relevant experience to this MDS Pharma Services team. He will utilize his toxicology expertise and regulations knowledge to build clinical drug development strategies from preclinical information. Dr Chamberland has held previous positions with Angiogene, Aeterna, Cato, International Toxicology Research (ITR) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

European program director and physician Dr Ian Dews applies his clinical expertise to program designs and coordinating input from external experts for programs involving diabetes, asthma, oncology and cardiovascular disease. He also has considerable experience with European regulatory affairs, having prepared many clinical expert reports for new drug candidates. Dr Dews joined MCRC (now MDS Pharma Services) in 1987 as a medical advisor.

As a newly appointed program director for drug development programs, Dr Malle Jurima-Romet’s expertise in early drug development particularly in drug metabolism and cell biology, reputation in the scientific community and experience in working within a regulatory environment will provide a foundation for leading clients’ drug development efforts. Before joining MDS Pharma Services in 1999, she worked for the Drugs Directorate of the Health Protection Branch in Ottawa, Canada.

Dr Bruce Morimoto possesses considerable experience in guiding products from lead optimization through IND filings. Dr Morimoto has worked as the director of drug development for Neuromed Technologies, director of business development for Phoenix International (now MDS Pharma Services) and director of drug discovery for Amur Pharmaceuticals.

Douglas Wight brings extensive experience in clinical research to his new role as a program director and facilitator of drug development activities for clients. He previously held the position of business development director for MDS Pharma Services. Before joining the company, Mr Wight was employed by Searle Canada, Sandoz Canada and Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal.

Michel Roy joins drug development programs as the first program manager based in the company’s Montreal site. Mr Roy has held positions in project management and business development with MDS Pharma Services and ITR and has worked in health economics for Pfizer Canada.