Anti-Doping Lab Qatar: The first specialized laboratory of its kind in the Middle East

Taking drugs to enhance performance is contrary to the fundamental values and principles of sport. To take drugs or use doping methods in sport or to assist someone in doing so is unacceptable in any form and is universally recognized as a form of cheating.

Anti-Doping Lab Qatar ( ADLQ )  is the first specialized laboratory of its kind in the Middle East. The state-of-the-art facility provides anti-doping testing for athletes across the Gulf region as well as West Asia. Doping control tests will be administered during competition, training and even in the off-season to catch cheats and protect athletes.

In addition, ADLQ strives to make drug education part of health education, lay down norms regulating the use of technology in sport and provide accurate and current information to athletes to help them think critically and make the wise choice of avoiding doping in any form.

Supported by a team of highly qualified scientists, ADLQ is already compliant with ISO/IEC17025, has already achieved the WADA accreditation for blood analysis in support of the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP)and is officially is officially accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since August 2015, joining an elite group of only 33 labs that have won WADA’s endorsement so far.

ADLQ consists of three main labs as follows:

1. Anti-Doping Lab:

As the main core business, the aim is to become the Lab for all Anti-doping Analysis for Qatar, GCC, international and national sports authorities. Especially with major events coming in the region like the Olympic Games, the World Cup 2022  and others, ADLQ is able to provide efficiency and peace of mind for those events and similar ones for Qatar and the region. Accredited by WADA, and following the most advanced technology, we will be able to detect the maximum number of prohibited substances. There is also a future plan for animal doping control which will be effective soon.

2. Toxicology and Multi-Purpose Lab:

The Toxicology and Multi-purpose Lab provides various analytical solutions and helps industries by offering industrial hygiene protocols needed by employers to ensure worker health and safety. This also includes but is not limited to cancer biomarkers, therapeutic drug monitoring, metabolic disorders, forensic and clinical toxicology and others. In addition to food packaging testing, and analysis of shampoos and cosmetics for 1,4 dioxane and formaldehyde to Drugs of Abuse testing.

3. Life Sciences Research Lab:

ADLQ  aims to become a Research Centre of Excellence which develops research capabilities that are not only important for trace quantitative and evidential quality routine testing,  but also in growing and advancing project areas such as biomedical and translational research.

The Research Laboratory provides investigatory and developmental support within the Doping Analysis Lab and the Multi-purpose Lab. Its scope of work includes conducting administration studies for identification of new drugs and metabolites. It will conduct environmental testing as well as the determination of organic and inorganic chemical entities that threaten the environment.  The ultimate objective is to drive the application of science and discoveries into the realm of improved human health and eradication of the disease.