MDS Inc scales back, sharpens core focus

MDS Inc has announced a major overhaul of its various business lines that sees a reduction in its divisions to focus on its core life sciences activity, layoffs of 500 employees and a focus on near-term improvement of financial performance. MDS will retain MDS Pharma Services (contract research), MDS Nordion (molecular imaging and radio-therapeutics) and MDS Sciex (analy-tical instruments). Divisions deemed non-core assets are: MDS Diagnostics (laboratory services), MDS Capital (venture capital) and Source Medical (medical, surgical and laboratory supplies). MDS Services is being repositioned, with closures of several of its international offices, divestiture of its bio-safety and pharmaceuticals businesses and the acquisition of Washington State-based SkeleTech Inc, a contract research organization providing pre-clinical services in bone and central nervous system biologies....