FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Germany's national anti-doping agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency will work together to investigate a doping scandal at a training center run by the German Olympic Sports Confederation.
In a joint statement on Thursday, they say they have "agreed on a coordinated approach to cases relating to the Erfurt Olympic training center and the issue of UV blood treatment."
Members of both agencies met to discuss the ongoing case against Dr. Andreas Franke, who extracted blood from athletes, treated it with ultraviolet light and injected it back into the same athlete, a procedure banned by WADA.
"The important thing for now is that the doctor that carried out these procedures is no longer working at the center," WADA director general David Howman said.
Howman said the discussions, which lasted two hours, were "helpful and enlightening" and that "both WADA and NADA are now in a better position to move forward with cases involving UV blood treatment."
Misunderstandings initially arose between the agencies on the timing of the ban's introduction, with WADA first telling NADA it came into force on Jan. 1, 2011, before saying it came in earlier, according to German news agency dapd.
Howman accused the NADA of withholding important documents related to the Erfurt case, dapd reported.
WADA said an "incorrect opinion" had been given "because it was based on information that was available to it at that time," and the agency accepted "NADA was not responsible for any breakdown in communication."
NADA last month cleared German speedskater Judith Hesse of blame after Franke used the procedure to enhance the oxygen flow in her blood.
NADA's court of arbitration decided against sanctioning Hesse, saying she did not receive the treatment "on her own initiative."
Hesse is just one athlete implicated in the scandal, with public broadcaster ARD revealing in January that it had a list of 28, including former Olympic speedskating champion Claudia Pechstein, former 800-meter Olympic champion Nils Schumann, rising German cycling star Marcel Kittel, and Jamaican long jumper James Beckford.
To underline its solidarity with NADA, WADA said it will support the German agency in appealing a Cologne court's recent decision to acquit German cyclist Patrik Sinkewitz following his positive test for human growth hormone.
