Iga Świątek was suspended due to a positive anti-doping result. Poland the tennis player proved in proceedings before the International Integrity Agency Tennis (ITIA) that it was the result of taking a contaminated drug containing melatonin. In this situation, she only received a one-month suspension and can now play in the competition tournaments professional.
From the ITIA report published on November 28, we learned that the manufacturer of the drug is the Polish company LEK-AM. A day later, the company issued a statement which stated, among other things: “Melatonin LEK-AM 1 mg is subject to strict control at every stage of production. The trace amounts of contamination detected in the examined drug packaging are significantly below the permissible standard, which means that in no way do not threaten the health and life of patients. Melatonin LEK-AM 1 mg is safe for patients. (…) Due to the current situation, LEK-AM is in constant contact with the Chief Inspectorate Pharmaceutical Industry (GIF). We declare full cooperation to clarify any doubts.
LEK-Am and GIF statements
In turn, on November 29, a statement from the state institution appeared, which stated, among other things: “The Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate has not yet received any reports of suspected quality defects regarding medicinal products of this entity containing the listed substances. We treat press reports as reports of suspected quality defects in a medicinal product and we take action, including an unannounced inspection at the product manufacturing site, to confirm or exclude a quality defect. If a defect is confirmed, appropriate action will be taken against the medicinal product and towards the manufacturer. We will immediately inform you about the results of the inspection.”
As Sport.pl, we have now contacted GIF to ask what stage the inspection is at and what new information regarding the matter may be forwarded to us. – Due to ongoing procedures, we cannot yet inform about the results of inspections at the manufacturing site. The final results of the inspection will be known at the beginning of 2025 – we read in the response from the GIF press office.
The GIF reflects what the current situation is
What actions did officials take regarding the drug manufacturer Iga Świątek? – First of all, the mentioned inspection at the place of production should be mentioned. A standard explanatory procedure has also been initiated in the event of a quality defect being reported – it was added.
In mid-December, LEK-AM sent a letter to Sport.pl in which it stated: “We have provided inspectors with full documentation regarding the drug and the procedures followed in our company. We are waiting for the official results of the inspection.” The production plant is located in Zakrętym near Warsaw – this is where the inspection took place as the place where the medicine was manufactured.
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At the end of November, Polish 2050 MP Tomasz Zimoch sent several questions to the Ministry of Health regarding Iga Świątek through a parliamentary interpellation. A former sports commentator asked:
- Has the Ministry of Health been notified of this situation? If so, what steps were taken to recall the affected batch of product?
- What actions did the Chief Pharmaceutical Inspectorate take?
- Are there any other known cases of contamination of medicines produced in Poland?
- What actions will the Ministry of Health take to prevent similar events in the future?
Deputy Minister on the Świątek case
A few days later, Deputy Minister of Health Urszula Demkow answered questions from the parliamentary podium, saying, among other things: “The findings made during the inspection are currently being analyzed and a report is being prepared. The Chief Pharmaceutical Inspector has asked the International Tennis Integrity Agency to share the test results , in particular the level of contamination with trimetazidine, the medicinal product melatonin 1 mg LEK-AM, based on publicly available data information, the concentration of trimetazidine at the level of 0.05 ng/ml was found in the urine sample of the tested athlete.
On Tuesday, December 31, the deadline for the Polish Anti-Doping Agency to appeal against the judgment of the International Tennis Integrity Agency expired. POLADA did not decide to appeal. At the same time, from January 1, the World Anti-Doping Agency may file an appeal in the case of Iga Świątek within 21 days. If this also does not happen, the story related to our tennis player's positive result will end on January 22. Any appeal would go to the Court of Appeal. Sports in Lausanne as second instance.