The partnership will see both organisations work together on areas on common interest ©Getty Images

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which will see the two organisations collaborate and share knowledge.

The IMI, a partnership between the European Union and the European pharmaceutical industry, are set to work alongside WADA in areas which they share a common interest under the agreement.

It is claimed that by increasing collaboration between the two organisations through the MoU both parties can benefit from the additional information and help fill in gaps in knowledge.

For instance the IMI’s analyse of the effect of medicines in patients could help WADA in their efforts to detect substance abuse, while WADA’s work on counterfeit drugs potentially prove to be helpful to the IMI.

“Many aspects of WADA’s comprehensive research programmes are of direct relevance to the Innovative Medicines Initiative’s goal of advancing medical development,” said Irene Norstedt, IMI acting executive director.

“The Memorandum of Understanding will make it easier for us to share ideas and expertise and learn from one another.”

WADA director general David Howman believes the partnership could help his organisation in the fight against doping
WADA director general David Howman believes the partnership could help his organisation in the fight against doping ©AFP/Getty Images

The organisations have already identified ageing, fragility, lung function, blood supply, cognition, long term effects of medicines and biological signatures of drug use as potential avenues of interest for collaborations.

“It is important for WADA to continue to partner with leading pharmaceutical and healthcare research organizations such as IMI for the benefit of our two communities; encouraging collaboration was the very purpose of the Second International Pharmaceutical Conference in Tokyo earlier this year,” said David Howman, WADA director general.

“This partnership will help IMI minimize the risk of abuse of innovative medicines, and it will help WADA develop new strategies to identify substances that could be subject to misuse and abuse by athletes.”


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