MDS Nordion Snapshot
MDS Nordion is a global leader in providing innovative technologies for use in medical imaging, targeted cancer treatments and sterilization of medical devices. Our products and services benefit the lives of millions of people in more than 50 countries around the world.
MDS Nordion is one of three business units that make up MDS Inc. This global life sciences company is a leading innovator in providing products, services and technologies that support the latest advances in drug development, diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
MDS Nordion is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada and operates in an estimated US$4 billion market that is growing 5% - 7% a year. This growth is driven by the growing demand for early diagnoses of disease and more effective therapies for cancer, cardiac conditions and other health conditions.
MDS Nordion products and services are used on a daily basis by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, medical device manufacturers, hospitals, clinics and research laboratories:
Molecular imaging isotopes – MDS Nordion supplies more than half of the world’s medical isotopes to precisely diagnose, monitor and treat disease.
Targeted cancer treatments – MDS Nordion provides targeted cancer treatments for a variety of conditions including liver and brain cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Sterilization products and systems – The industry leader and innovator, MDS Nordion technology is used to sterilize more than 40% of the world’s single-use medical supplies, such as bandages, catheters and syringes. It’s been estimated that 80% of all surgical gloves in the world are sterilized using this technology. A vast array of consumer products, including contact lens solution and cosmetics, are also sterilized with MDS Nordion technology. The need to safely and effectively sterilize products is growing, such as irradiating surgical implants, plasma and serums.
Molecular Imaging: How It Makes a Difference
Diagnose and treat diseases
MDS Nordion – the global leader – produces medical isotopes to create molecular-based images that are used to help physicians diagnose and treat cancer, cardiac conditions, thyroid and neurological problems. We employ a global distribution and logistics network with unmatched precision to provide on-time delivery of these products – many of which have very short half lives – to locations around the world. These medical isotopes are used by radiopharmacies to enable the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
Research and development
Advances in molecular and cell biology combined with powerful, non-invasive imaging technologies provide physicians and researchers with critical information about how the body functions. This is helping to speed drug development and MDS Nordion's focus is creating innovative opportunities for imaging and therapeutic technologies.
MDS Nordion collaborates with several worldwide leading academic centres on collaborative research using molecular imaging. Together with the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, MDS Nordion established a Molecular Imaging Centre of Excellence to advance cardiology research.
MDS Nordion technology is routinely used to irradiate pharmaceutical ingredients used worldwide to advance medical research and drug discovery, including cancer and stem cell research.
Targeted Cancer Treatments
TheraSphere® offers hope for patients with inoperable liver cancer. This innovative treatment involves injecting tiny irradiated glass beads that target cancerous tumours in the liver. The product is injected by physicians into the main artery of the patient’s liver through a catheter, which allows the treatment to be delivered directly to the tumour via blood vessels. In targeting liver cancer cells, the impact on the patient’s healthy tissues is minimized. Unlike chemotherapy, this radiotherapeutic has fewer side effects. Patients rarely experience the nausea and vomiting usually associated with high-dose chemotherapies. As a result, it can generally be administered on an outpatient basis and does not usually require an overnight hospital stay.
Medical Isotope Supply Backgrounder
For additional information, visit the MDS Nordion site at http://www.mdsnordion.com.