Polish pharmaceutical company LEK-AM says there are “saddened” to hear what happened after Iga Swiatek consumed one of their manufactured pills but also denied that they failed to respond to the ITIA when contacted.
On Thursday, the tennis world was stunned by the news of the five-time Grand Slam champion failing a doping test and accepting a one-month ban. In a detailed announcement, it was explained that the 23-year-old tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), which she ingested after taking melatonin medication to treat stress and sleep issues.
After provisionally being suspended and later allowed to return to action after determining the source of contamination, Swiatek’s one-month ban started on November 27 – but the Pole only had eight more days to serve since she served 22 during her provisional suspension.
In her message, the Polish tennis superstar said it was “the toughest battle of her life” and something that left her feeling very anxious and gave sleepless nights.
Since she has been one of the top and most successful Polish athletes for a couple of years now, the company that manufactured the medication received certain criticism and backlash in Poland.
“Like the international public opinion and fans of Ms. Iga Swiatek, we are saddened by the situation that has befallen the best tennis player in the world. We are deeply moved by Ms. Iga Świątek’s statement of November 28, 2024, not only as employees of a pharmaceutical company, but also as fans of Polish sports. We declare full cooperation in order to clarify any doubts,” Przedsiębiorstwo Farmaceutyczne LEK-AM said in a statement.
Iga Swiatek© Polski Zwiazek Tenisowy/Instagram – Fair Use
LEK-AM denies that they didn’t respond to the ITIA
According to the Polish pharma company, the ITIA never contacted them directly despite claiming they made numerous calls and emails.
“ITIA did not contact us directly. We were contacted by a law firm from Great Britain, which did not indicate who it worked for. The law firm’s representative expected us to take actions that violated Polish pharmaceutical law (Art. 36 g sec. 1 item 10 of the Pharmaceutical Law Act, Journal of Laws 2024, item 686), especially in terms of sending medicines to unauthorized persons. This aroused our distrust and our lack of reaction to the initiated contact. From today’s perspective, we would have made contact,” the statement continued.
Also, the company claimed that the medication in question received nothing but very positive reviews in the past.
“We are sorry that the incident involved the drug Melatonina LEK-AM 1 mg – especially since our drug has enjoyed the recognition and trust of doctors and patients, including professional athletes, for many years. We meet all the highest standards of drug production. We follow all procedures related to the production of medicines,” they added.
What the ITIA and Swiatek said?
After the four-time French Open champion and her team determined from where TMZ came, they pleaded their defense to the ITIA. And after looking at the evidence, the agency accepted that the former world No. 1 didn’t knowingly or intentionally take something that was on the prohibited list.
“The ITIA accepted that the positive test was caused by the contamination of a regulated non-prescription medication (melatonin), manufactured and sold in Poland that the player had been taking for jet lag and sleep issues, and that the violation was therefore not intentional. This followed interviews with the player and their entourage, investigations, and analysis from two WADA-accredited laboratories,” the ITIA said.
“In relation to the player’s level of fault, as the contaminated product was a regulated non-prescription medication in the player’s country of origin and purchase and considering all the circumstances of its use (and other contaminated product cases under the World Anti-Doping Code), the player’s level of fault was considered to be at the lowest end of the range for ‘No Significant Fault or Negligence.’”
Meanwhile, Swiatek was pretty open in her message, saying it was the most difficult thing she ever faced and admitted that she “cried” a lot during the entire period. Also, she confessed that she was feeling some major stress and anxiety because she didn’t know what was going to happen with her career.
Iga Swiatek© Polski Zwiazek Tenisowy/Instagram – Fair Use
Ultimately, it all worked out fine for the world No. 2, who will be able to start the 2025 season in time.
In late December, the United Cup will mark the start of the new season and the 23-year-old is slated to represent Poland there. After the United Cup, the Pole should compete at the Australian Open.
Swiatek may have won her case but some of the reactions to her doping news from her colleagues weren’t the most pleasant to hear so it will be interesting to see if any of this mentally impacts the former world No. 1.
Tennis World USA