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Drug Maker Helps Find Cycling Cheats
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by optic | July 23, 2008 at 04:10 pm
275 views | 7 Recommendations | 5 comments
Finally some positive news from a drug maker working with the World Anti-Doping Agency. This took some cyclists by surprise - notably Ricardo Ricco - and it explains some of Ricco's confidence. It's clear now that certain riders are still deterred by the possibility of recrimination rather than motivated by a desire for a clean sport. But this is clearly another step forward in the lead cycling bodies are taking to clean up the sport.
Drug maker cooperated with WADA
By VeloNews.com Posted Jul. 23, 2008
The World Anti-Doping Agency said Wednesday Italian rider Riccardo Riccò tested positive at the Tour de France after a secret molecule was planted in the blood booster EPO during its manufacture.
Riccò, 24, upset the big names of the sport to win two stages of this year's Tour before he was kicked off after testing positive for EPO (erythropoietin).
Revealing the now high-tech nature of the fight against drugs in sport, WADA chief John Fahey said his organization worked with drugs giant Roche on the newest version of EPO (erythropoietin).
He said Roche had included a molecule in the third generation of EPO, called Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator (CERA) that acted as a marker in drug tests.
"In the development of that particular substance, close cooperation occurred between WADA and the pharmaceutical company Roche Pharmaceuticals so that there was a molecule placed in the substance well in advance that was always going to be able to be detected once a test was taken," Fahey told public radio in his native Australia.
Until this year's Tour, CERA, which is released into the body more slowly than its predecessors, had been thought to be undetectable by drug testers.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (5)
at 18:50 on July 23rd, 2008
optic, I like this story. It's good stuff.
I wonder if they're going to use this capability at the Olympics. There might be some nervous athletes if that's the case.
at 20:24 on July 23rd, 2008
It has now been revealed that the element that was discussed was in fact part of the drug itself and not placed especially to aid in detection. It is however true that the molecule was shared with WADA well in advance of the Tour and therefore there is still evidence that there was substantial cooperation between WADA and Roche.
at 03:22 on July 24th, 2008
Wow Nice Story
at 09:01 on July 24th, 2008
optic, I like this story. It's good stuff. This is great news indeed. Do you know if the marker is only in the CERA manufactured by Roche?
at 10:05 on July 24th, 2008
In the same cyclingnews article it is mentioned that Amgen - a California-based competitor to Roche (and also the title sponsor of the Tour of California) - helped the USADA and WADA catch cross country skiers in the Salt Lake Games in 2002 that were using their similar drug, Aranesp. In that case it was detected thorugh urine tests.