GSK launches anti-doping operation for the London 2012 Olympics

Hannah Blake

pharmaphorum

Global pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline, has formally marked its role as Official Laboratory Services Provider for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by launching a new advertising campaign. This campaign will highlight the role that anti-doping science will play in helping ensure that the London 2012 Olympics are the cleanest possible.

The launch coincides with the start of the 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week, official London 2012 anti-doping laboratory, provided by GSK in collaboration with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and King’s College London.

The campaign celebrates the motivation and ambition that drives athletes to perform and win drug-free. Appearing on television and outdoor advertising spaces throughout the UK, the campaign will feature British Olympians and Paralympians, including Philips Idowu, Beth Tweddle, David Weir, Graham Edmunds and Marlon Devonish.

“Our contribution to the London 2012 Games, through our partnership with LOCOG and King’s, is to help ensure that every medal winner can celebrate their athletic achievement in the knowledge they have won through a fair competition. Our advertising campaign aims to showcase the hard work, determination and natural ability that is central to each athlete’s performance.”

Phil Thompson, Senior Vice President, Global Communications at GlaxoSmithKline.

The London 2012 anti-doping operation is the largest procedure in the history of the Olympics, with up to 6250 samples tested during the Games’ two-week period. Up to 50% of all competing athletes, including every Olympic medallist, will be tested for over 240 prohibited substances.