MDS Nordion Submits Expression of Interest Proposal to Government of Canada on Medical...

MDS Nordion Submits Expression of Interest Proposal to Government of Canada on
Medical Isotope and Generator Production

MAPLE Reactors Could Solve the Isotope Crisis within 24 months

OTTAWA, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - MDS Nordion, a leading provider of
medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, has submitted a Proposal to the
Government of Canada's Expert Review Panel on Medical Isotope and
Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) Generator Production. MDS Nordion believes that the
best answer to the shortage of medical radioisotopes is the completion and
bringing into service of the MAPLE project. The MDS Nordion Proposal outlines
technical and regulatory requirements needed for the provision of a secure
supply of medical isotopes for the health care system in Canada and around the
world.
With no domestic or international sources of supply that can fully mitigate
the current global shortage of medical isotopes, MDS Nordion urges Atomic
Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) to complete the MAPLE project to address this
shortage. With expertise and guidance from the South African Nuclear Energy
Corporation (Necsa), owner and operator of the SAFARI-1 reactor, and working
with AECL, MDS Nordion believes a solution could be achieved in an estimated
24 months.
"MDS Nordion is a solutions oriented Company with strong technical and
regulatory expertise. We look forward to working with Necsa on the next stages
of this proposal," said Steve West, President of MDS Nordion. "We believe this
approach provides a good path forward to bring the MAPLEs into service and
provide a long-term supply of medical isotopes for Canadians. This goal is of
utmost importance and we are also supportive of other proposals which may
provide this critical supply."

Project Description

MDS Nordion urges AECL to honour its long-standing commitment to replace the
National Research Universal (NRU) by bringing the MAPLE facilities into
service. This can be done through AECL collaborating with Necsa on the
adaption of the OSCAR computer codes, which are successfully used by the
world's leading isotope producing reactors. The computer codes are
specifically designed to model research reactor performance and operation and
are being used by the High Flux Reactor in Petten, Netherlands, and SAFARI-1,
in South Africa. Adopting the OSCAR computer codes could be essential to
resolving the existing discrepancy between the predicted and measured value of
the power coefficient of reactivity of the MAPLE reactors allowing them to be
licensed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for safe operation.
During the Standing Committee on Natural Resources session on June 4, 2009,
Mr. Peter Elder, Director General, Directorate of Nuclear Cycle and Facilities
Regulation, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, stated "The issue is not
whether, necessarily, there's any problem with a positive coefficient. It was
a mismatch between the (value) predicted in their safety case in the computer
codes that said it should be negative and the actual measurements in the
reactor that turned out to be positive, which means there was something in
those computer codes that was not modeling what was happening in the reactor."
As a key collaborator in the project, "Necsa is honoured to be considered part
of this important endeavour needed to secure a stable and reliable supply of
Mo-99 and Tc-99m to the market by offering its comprehensive expertise in the
physics and operation of material test reactors and the OSCAR system to
support MDS Nordion's project proposal" stated Rob Adam, Necsa CEO in his
response to the invitation by MDS Nordion to join the MAPLE project.
In addition to the OSCAR computer codes, MDS Nordion is proposing the
construction of a fully licensed production facility to manufacture Tc-99m
generators for distribution to Canadian hospitals in all regions of Canada and
abroad. With previous experience in this area, MDS Nordion will build, operate
and maintain the generator production line, and perform all necessary
activities; including provision of licensed packaging, consumable supplies and
facilitate transport logistics to all Canadian health care centres.

About MDS Nordion

MDS Nordion, a business unit of MDS Inc., is a global leader in providing
medical isotopes for molecular and diagnostic imaging, radiotherapeutics and
sterilization technologies for medical products that benefit the lives of
millions of people in more than 50 countries around the world. MDS Nordion
products and services are used on a daily basis by pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies, medical-device manufacturers, hospitals, clinics and
research laboratories. Find out more at www.mdsnordion.com

About MDS

MDS Inc. (TSX: MDS; NYSE: MDZ) is a global life sciences company that provides
market-leading products and services that our customers need for the
development of drugs, and the diagnosis and treatment of disease. We are a
leading global provider of pharmaceutical contract research, medical isotopes
for molecular imaging, radiotherapeutics, and analytical instruments. MDS has
more than 4,200 highly skilled people in 13 countries. Find out more at
www.mdsinc.com or by calling 1-888-MDS-7222, 24 hours a day.

SOURCE MDS Nordion

MEDIA: Shelley Maclean, (613) 592-3400, ext. 2414, shelley.maclean@mdsinc.com;
INVESTORS: Kim Lee, (416) 213-4721, kim.lee@mdsinc.com