WADA & Pharmaceutical Industry Form Partnership

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) today formed a partnership with leading pharmaceutical companies in what will be seen by many as a welcome move in the fight against doping in sport. Mr. David Howman, Director General of WADA, along with leading figures from the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) signed a document entitles The Joint Declaration on Cooperation in the Fight against Doping in Sport.

The declaration will help generate closer ties between the world’s leading anti-doping agency and the manufacturers of medical compounds used for doping and hopefully minimize the misuse of performance enhancing products that are still undergoing development, staying a step ahead of any athlete willing to break the rules. As new pharmaceutical products are manufactured and emerge onto the market it is hoped that tests for relevant products will be developed more quickly and effectively.

In a statement released on the WADA website earlier today, the Director General of the WADA, David Howman, expressed his optimism at the proposals, “Our cooperation with the research-based pharmaceutical industry will allow the anti-doping community to further anticipate doping trends and develop detection means for substances with doping potential at early stages of their development. This will help maximize chances of catching drug cheats in sport.”

More importantly, Mr Howman went on to discuss the importance of retrospective testing, “There is a second important element to this cooperation. Doping control samples can be stored for eight years by anti-doping organizations and undergo further analysis as science advances. This means that even if detection means cannot be developed in time before a substance may be misused by athletes for doping purposes, stored samples can be analyzed at a later date and cheats can be uncovered when a detection method is ready. WADA believes that such retrospective testing serves as a strong deterrent.”

Today’s declaration and closer partnership between the parties involved is a huge step in the right direction and as a result more resources will be brought about to help prevent doping across all sports, leading to a more level playing field for all athletes concerned.