MDS Launches Metabolic Disorders Initiative

MDS Pharma Services has launched a new therapeutic focus on metabolic disorders such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity and metabolic syndrome ─conditions that damage the cardiovascular system. The initiative builds on the business unit’s expertise in biomarkers and its experience in managing global clinical trials involving these increasingly prevalent conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-third of the adult population in the U.S. is currently obese, and more than 200 million people worldwide have diabetes.

“The top pharmaceutical companies have programs in these areas, and in 2006 about a quarter of our Global Clinical Development revenue is expected to come from work associated with metabolic disorders,” said MDS Pharma Services president David Spaight. “We have made a strategic decision to become a leader in this arena and have a dedicated team working in metabolic disorders. MDS Pharma Services’ extensive panel of biomarkers for metabolic disorders and our expertise in this area are critical to this work.”

The Global Clinical Development division of MDS Pharma Services is currently managing more than 12 trials involving metabolic disorders. These include large cholesterol studies in North and South America, a global obesity morbidity study, and large diabetes studies in Europe and the Americas.