Montreal, Dec 3, 2014 – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to announce the signing of a long-term global agreement with Pfizer Inc. that will allow Pfizer to share information on pipeline products that have a potential for athletic performance misuse, and in parallel allow WADA to exchange information with Pfizer on substances that are being abused by athletes.
The agreement, which covers all new medicines being developed by Pfizer, comes before next month’s 2015 Tokyo Pharmaceutical Conference and, crucially, as the anti-doping movement enters its next phase with the forthcoming introduction of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code. The agreement is a central part of WADA’s strategy of collaborating with companies in the pharmaceutical industry in order to protect the rights of clean athletes worldwide. This partnership between WADA and Pfizer will significantly strengthen other industry partnerships that WADA has formed in the past with the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) and some of its members.
As part of this global agreement, medicines in development will be reviewed by Pfizer scientists specifically to identify substances with a probable or high risk of abuse in sport. This screening will be part of Pfizer’s existing comprehensive effort to detect and mitigate abuse potential in all of its development and marketed portfolio.
These scientists will look for any similarity to the pharmacological characteristics of existing performance-enhancing substances and assess how they work in the human body. This would include stimulatory effects or improved strength and physical endurance.
Any new medicines in Pfizer’s pipeline found to have performance-enhancing characteristics will be voluntarily highlighted by Pfizer to WADA under this agreement, and confidential scientific data relating to them may be transferred by Pfizer on a case-by-case basis so that work by WADA can begin on detection methods in sports.
WADA Director General, David Howman: “A central aspect of WADA’s strategy is to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies so that medicinal substances of interest to dopers can be identified. In turn, this will allow us to develop detection methods at a much faster rate. Striking this partnerhip with Pfizer is a win-win for both parties, and comes at a crucial time with the introduction of the revised World Anti-Doping Code just weeks away.”
Pfizer Senior Vice President, Worldwide Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Peter Honig: ”Pfizer takes seriously the integrity of science and the use of our innovative medicines only for legitimate health purposes. We are pleased to expand our global efforts to mitigate the abuse of pharmaceutical compounds by officially partnering with WADA to deter athletic doping.”
About the Partnership
Pfizer is working with WADA to establish a formal scientific review process within its Research and Development teams to help identify as early as possible drugs with potential for sports-related abuse. This includes ongoing reviews.
Efforts to formalize information sharing with WADA have been underway across the pharmaceutical industry since WADA and the IFPMA (International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations) signed a joint declaration in July 2010. —- WADA
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