MDS Inc. (MDS.TO, MDZ), a Canadian provider of products and services to the life sciences markets, Thursday announced the appointment of Steve West, President of MDS Nordion, as Chief Operating Officer of MDS Inc. The company also said that Stephen DeFalco, President and Chief Executive Officer of MDS Inc., intends to step down from his position following the successful completion of strategic transactions announced on September 2.
MDS had announced an agreement on September 2 to sell its MDS Analytical Technologies business, a supplier of drug discovery and life sciences research tools, to Danaher Corp. (DHR) for $650 million in cash. The company currently intends to return approximately $400 million to $450 million of the sale proceeds to its shareholders.
The company also announced that it intends to sell its MDS Pharma Services business, a provider of drug discovery and early-stage development solutions for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Assuming completion of the sale of MDS Analytical Technologies and MDS Pharma Services, MDS will remain as a publicly traded entity consisting solely of the MDS Nordion business.
West is expected to become the company's Chief Executive Officer once the company is focused solely on the MDS Nordion business.
Commenting on the appointment of West, James S. A. MacDonald, Chairman of MDS Inc.'s Board of Directors, stated, "Steve is a talented executive with a proven track record of delivering strong performance. He assumes the COO position with the full confidence and support of the Board."
West became President of MDS Nordion in 2003. He began his career at MDS in 2001 as a senior partner with MDS Capital Corp. Prior to that, he was President of DiverseyLever Canada. He has also held a variety of Chief Executive Officer assignments in Asia and the Pacific Rim, as well as international business development responsibilities in the specialty chemicals field.
"The Board and I believe that Steve is well positioned to build MDS Nordion as a stand-alone company focused on its core strengths in medical isotopes for molecular and diagnostic imaging, radiotherapeutics and sterilization technologies," DeFalco stated.
According to MDS, the decisions to sell its businesses follow a comprehensive strategic review by a Special Committee of independent Directors working with management and financial and legal advisors. The MDS Inc. Board of Directors believes the actions announced are in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. They unanimously recommended the company's shareholders to vote in favor of the sale of MDS Analytical Technologies.
MDS also said that a Special Meeting of Shareholders will be held on October 20 to approve the sale of MDS Analytical Technologies. The sale must be approved by two-thirds of the votes cast at the meeting.
For the recently closed third quarter, MDS reported a wider loss that reflected impairment charges and a 21% drop in revenues. The Mississauga, Canada-based company posted a net loss of US$62 million or US$0.51 per share for the third quarter, compared with a loss of US$10 million or US$0.08 per share in the prior-year quarter. Total revenues declined to US$199 million from US$252 million in the same quarter last year.
MDS.TO rose C$0.26, or 3.18%, on the TSX and is trading at C$8.43 on a volume of 143,288 shares.
MDZ is trading at US$7.96 on the NYSE, up US$0.26, or 3.38%, on a volume of 298,550 shares.
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