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Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation is a unique organization that traces itsroots back to July 2000, when a four-year-old cancer patient sold lemonade inher front yard to raise money for pediatric cancer research. For the next fouryears, despite deteriorating health, Alexandra (Alex) Scott set up a lemonadestand annually and inspired others to do the same. By the time she passed awayat the age of eight in August 2004, Alex had raised more than $1 million.
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The foundation that bears her name continues her vision of "fightingchildhood cancer, one cup at a time." By September of this year, theFoundation had raised more than $15 million for childhood cancer research. Itprovides grants to support basic oncology research, career development foroncology researchers, and improved availability of new treatments.
"MDS Pharma Services is proud to be the first contract researchorganization to become a major corporate sponsor of the Alex's Lemonade StandFoundation," said MDS Pharma Services President David Spaight. "Oursponsorship puts a human face on the work we do to support oncology drugdiscovery and development. The possibility of contributing to advances intreatments for cancer and other diseases inspires our MDS Pharma Services teamevery day."
This sponsorship will support two Foundation grant programs: The PediatricOncology Program Infrastructure Awards and the Young Investigator Awards. Thefirst program provides funding to hire support personnel to expediteenrollment of children with cancer in clinical trials. The second programprovides start-up funds to allow new researchers and physicians to pursuepromising avenues of investigation. To date, the Foundation has funded morethan 42 pediatric cancer research projects at 30 US institutions.
"We know what a difference new advances in cancer research can make; theygave Alex four extra years of life and inspired her to start raising money tohelp other children with difficult-to-treat cancers," said Alex's mother,Elizabeth Scott, who runs the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation with herhusband Jay. "MDS Pharma Services is contributing to such advances through itssponsorship of the Foundation and the work that its employees do every day.Together, our organizations are offering hope and the gift of time to childrenwith cancer."
In addition to supporting two of the Foundation's grant programs, MDSPharma Services will encourage employees at its more than three dozenlocations around the world to set up Alex's Lemonade Stands in 2008. Employeeswill be encouraged to take part in the Foundation's Fifth Annual Lemonade Daysfrom June 6 through 8. During these Lemonade Days, an estimated 10,000volunteers are expected to organize more than 1,000 Alex's Lemonade Standscoast to coast in the United States. Visit http://www.alexslemonade.org tolearn more about the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
About MDS Pharma Services
MDS Pharma Services is retooling key parts of its operations to deliveron-time performance. The business offers a full spectrum of resources to meetthe drug discovery and development needs of the pharmaceutical andbiotechnology industries. With numerous facilities strat
