World Pharmacy

ISLAMABAD: Federal drug inspectors have cracked down on an alleged illegal hike in prices of medicines in the federal capital as they raided various pharmacies and chemists in the city and seized medicines manufactured by different pharmaceutical companies who had hiked their prices illegally.

As per the documents available with Daily Express, drug inspectors have requested the Drug Regulatory of Pakistan (Drap) to inform them after reviewing notified medicines from the health ministry so that immediate action can be taken against drugs and their manufacturers. Full Story

Livermore, who tested positive for metabolites of Clomiphene and Mesterolone, said that he started treatment on November 29, 2016. He added that when he was approached for testing by Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) representatives on December 16, 2016, and again on December 22, 2016, he told them that he was taking medication and also declared in writing what he was taking.

Clomiphene is listed as a fertility treatment for women, while Mesterolone is described an anabolic steroid, which is often used by bodybuilders to increase libido (desire for sex). Clomiphene, which also goes by the name Clomid, is the same drug for which netballer Simone Forbes tested positive before the 2011 World Netball Championships.

Chen, winner of the men’s under 69 kilograms European titles in 2013 and 2014 and is a triple world silver medallist, has been charged with the violation of Article 2.2 of the IWF Anti-Doping Policy.

Article 2.2 relates to use or attempted use by an athlete of a prohibited substance or a prohibited method.

It is possible he could be among athletes identified by Grigory Rodchenkov, the former director of Russia’s national antidoping laboratory, who is now a whistleblower for the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Russia was one of the nine nations banned for a year by the IWF in September.

This meant they missed the 2017 World Championships in Anaheim.

It has also been announced that Mongolia’s Otgontuya Gongor has tested positive for the anabolic steroid mesterolone.

Like Chen, Gongor  has been provisionally suspended.

The IWF has said it will not make any further comment on the two cases until they are closed.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) warned last month that weightlifting is not assured of remaining on the programme for Paris 2024 unless its doping problems continue to be addressed.

The IWF was given a December deadline in June to deliver a “satisfactory” report to the IOC on how they will address the massive doping problem the sport is facing.

A new “hard-line”approach to doping has supposedly been unveiled by the world governing body, including the handing over of the IWF’s anti-doping programme to the Independent Testing Authority.

Among the things the IOC wants the IWF to do is target countries who are serial offenders by making it more difficult for them to qualify for the Olympic Games.

There were 24 positive tests at the 2015 World Championships and 49 in the re-testing of samples from the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games in Beijing and London respectively.

Failures have intensified following the development of new techniques enabling better detection of anabolic steroids, which play a key role in strength orientated sports.

The IOC signalled its discontent in June of last year, shortly after the re-election of Tamás Aján for a fifth term as IWF President, by removing 64 quota places, along with a male bodyweight category.