Meldonium manufacturers claim course lasts 4-6 weeks, not 10 years

The Latvian company responsible for manufacturing meldonium, the banned performance enhancing drug that Maria Sharapova has tested positive for, have confirmed that a normal course of treatment lasts from four to six weeks, the Independent newspapers reported.

Sharapova claims to have first used meldonium in 2006 after being prescribed the drug by a family-approved doctor, and continued to use it legally throughout her career. 

However, the 28-year-old Russian failed to acknowledge that the drug was banned on 1 January 2016, given that the World Anti-Doping Agency [Wada] had discovered "evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance".

The five-time Grand Slam winner announced the news in a Los Angeles press conference on Monday in which she confirmed that she has knowingly taken the substance for the past decade, although she did not clarify how often she consumed meldonium - which is not an approved medication in the United States of America.

Meldonium is used to improve blood flow in patients suffering from cardiac and vascular diseases, but it has also been found to give healthy athletes a performance boost due to its ability to increase endurance and aerobic capabilities that led to its supposed abuse by sportsmen and sportswomen.