Professor Arne Ljungqvist Anti-Doping Foundation to take over the anti-doping operations of Swiss-based Berlinger Special AG and expand its anti-doping efforts. The Professor Arne Ljungqvist Anti-Doping Foundation is expanding its efforts in the fight against doping in sport, to help ensure fair sporting competition and for general health purposes. The Foundation and Berlinger Special AG, the leading manufacturer of anti-doping materials for sports, have agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of Friday 6 July that the Foundation will take over Berlinger's anti-doping operations. - “In concluding this MoU, we are both ensuring the continued production of antidoping control materials and establishing a model to generate resources for further research and development within the anti-doping movement,” says Professor Arne Ljungqvist of the agreement. “Berlinger Special AG has done an excellent job here for the last 20 years; and we will now take over this responsibility and continue the development of secure anti-doping materials.” Berlinger Special AG announced in March of this year that the company will cease production of its doping control kits, and subsequently initiated a search for a sustainable long-term solution for its doping control operations. After evaluating various options, Berlinger has concluded that the Arne Ljungqvist Anti-Doping Foundation is the best organization to continue such anti-doping operations. - “Professor Arne Ljungqvist, who has devoted his life to the fight against doping in sport and his concern for the athlete's health, is the best party to entrust with the future of our operation and continue to meet our vision,” says Andrea Berlinger, CEO of Berlinger Special AG. Any profit from the operation will be unconditionally transferred to the Professor Arne Ljungqvist Anti-Doping Foundation, where it will be used to establish and maintain a fund for anti-doping research. “More research and development (R&D) is needed to address the problem of doping,” stresses Professor Ljungqvist. “So it is very encouraging that we have been able to devise a new business model for the anti-doping kit which will lead to the creation of a special fund for anti-doping research and development.” - “The Foundation has already initiated a project in collaborations with a team from the Royal Technology Institute (KTH), Stockholm, to develop a modern secure, reliable and trustworthy doping control system for sports and other testing segments, says Professor Arne Ljungqvist.” The Arne Ljungqvist Anti-Doping Foundation will utilize its extensive international network of professors, sport administrators, athletes, educators and other experts in order to fulfill its new mission. The doping controls which are conducted by international sports organizations such as WADA, IOC, IAAF, FIFA, FINA and by national anti-doping organizations around the world produce some 300 000 samples a year which are then analyzed at WADA-accredited laboratories. The market value of the anti-doping control kits required for this amount to USD 7-9 million. In addition to anti-doping controls within sport, there is also a demand for sample control equipment for doping controls in further areas such as equestrian sports, workplace drug testing and clinical trials. - “We both believe that this step and the collaboration it entails will not only lead to a new era for Berlinger and the Foundation,” conclude Andrea Berlinger and Professor Arne Ljungqvist. “They may also have a greater positive impact for the broader antidoping movement and for sport in general.”