GlaxoSmithKline and WADA announce anti-doping alliance

GlaxoSmithKline is entering into a new collaboration with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to help crack down on the illegal use of performance enhancers among professional athletes.

The new alliance will see GlaxoSmithKline providing WADA with confidential information about early-stage developmental compounds that could potentially be abused by sportsmen and women.

Scientists from the pharmaceutical company will assess all of its new medicines to identify similarities with existing performance-enhancing substances, with this data to be provided to WADA to help it create new detection methods.

This builds on GlaxoSmithKline's role as the official laboratory services provider for the London 2012 Olympics, with an independent anti-doping laboratory set to be run by the firm alongside King's College London during the event.

Patrick Vallance, senior vice-president for medicines discovery and development at GlaxoSmithKline, said: "We hope that our contribution of laboratory services … will demonstrate the positive role that science can play within sport and contribute to protecting the health of athletes involved."

Earlier this year, the firm announced that it will be holding educational events to encourage schoolchildren to pursue science careers in the lead-up to the Games.