Meldonium
- Date
- 1970 · confidence high
- Place
- Riga, Latvia
- Credited to
- Ivars Kalviņš
- Field
- Life & health
What it is
An anti-ischemic drug that inhibits beta-oxidation and activates glycolysis, used in Eastern Europe for cardiovascular, neurological and metabolic conditions; banned in sport since 2016.
Developed at the Latvian SSR Institute of Organic Synthesis; its effectiveness as a performance enhancer lacks solid scientific support despite use by some athletes.
What it led to
- A cardioprotective treatment widely used in Eastern Europe
- Controversy over doping use and the 2016 WADA ban
Built on
- Soviet research in pharmaceutical organic chemistry