GlaxoSmithKline and LOCOG unveil anti-doping lab for Olympics

GlaxoSmithKline and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) have officially unveiled the new drugs laboratory that will be used to prevent cheating during the sporting event.

In association with laboratory operator King's College London, the organisations inaugurated the anti-doping facility in Harlow, Essex by inviting minister for sport and the Olympics Hugh Robertson for a tour.

The new lab is accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and is set to analyse more than 6250 samples during the Games, with more than 150 in-house scientists operating around the clock.

Experts from King's College London and around the world will help to operate the site, which GlaxoSmithKline believes can offer a blueprint for drug-testing procedures at future Games.

Sir Andrew Witty, chief executive officer of the company, said: "As a science-based organisation, GlaxoSmithKline is well placed to help deliver the scale and cutting-edge technology required to run an operation like the anti-doping facility for London 2012."

The firm is also set to be proving WADA with access to its early-stage portfolio as part of its anti-doping commitments, helping scientists to assess which developmental compounds could be open to abuse.