Ban on Meldonium due to vested interests, says inventor

Moscow: Drug Meldonium has been enlisted as a banned substance due to lobbyism by vested interests, the medical formula's inventor Ivars Kalvins said.

"We can accept only one thing that the underlining here is lobbyism of something - either purely political or sportive political, or pharmaceutical business," Kalvins said. He also noted that a formula "which could have the same mechanism of action as Mildronate" had not been invented yet.

Kalvins said putting Meldonium on a black list had not been justified with any research. "If WADA claims that Mildronate is a doping substance, the should provide just one article or carry out research. I have not seen a single article on the topic."