US-based contract research organisation (CRO) MDS Pharma Services has significantly expanded its central laboratory operations in China as demand grows for clinical trial services in that market.
MDS Pharma has moved to a nearly 25,000sq ft central laboratory facility in Beijing that gives the CRO five times the testing capacity of its former site, four times the space to produce clinical trial kits and a wider range of specialist trial testing services. The new facility’s proximity to Beijing airport will facilitate more rapid transportation of clinical trial samples, MDS Pharma added.
The Beijing central laboratory specialises in molecular biology testing for infectious diseases, DNA banking and pharmacogenomics. It also offers enhanced molecular biology techniques, a microbiology laboratory and flow cytometry capabilities, a technology increasingly employed in oncology and immune disorders, MDS Pharma noted. The CRO will continue to provide data and project management from the new facility.
MDS Pharma Services runs central laboratory services in key locations around the world including China, Canada, the US, France, Germany, Singapore and South America. The company has been in China for more than 10 years, managing over 30,000 patients in clinical trials. It was the first western CRO to own its facility in China and the first clinical laboratory in that market to receive accreditation from the College of American Pathologists, MDS Pharma said.
