CERA blood-boosting drug commercially available since 2007

[steroidbot]

Cera's shadow casts doubt
Cyclingnews.com
Contrary to suggestions made at the Tour, the third generation EPO agent - Mircera - was commercially available for almost a year prior to its first detection as a doping agent. It means that CERA could have been used in the 2007 Vuelta a España and world championships, in addition to other major events. [...]

CERA could have been in use for a much longer period of time, however. It was approved for EU use at the end of July 2007 and at the time company statements indicated that it would be immediately released in Germany and the UK. This month, Cyclingnews sought clarification that this was the case. "Mircera was approved in the European Union in July 2007 and to date it has been launched (become commercially available) in 19 European countries and another 19 countries around the world," said a Roche spokeswoman.

This is far earlier than was acknowledged by WADA and the UCI at this year's Tour; indicating that CERA may have been used by riders taking part in last season's Vuelta a España and World Championships. It also correlates with statements made this week by Kohl, who said that he first heard about CERA last year. [...]

One team representative (who wished to remain anonymous) told Cyclingnews that he thought there were grounds for concern. "Based on this [the release date], it could have been in the Tour 2007, for sure," he said. "I think some of these 'sport' doctors look for new drugs like this."

A Spanish media report by ABC.es the day after Operación Puerto broke listed "CERA - a hormone similar to EPO" as one of the substances seized from Eufemiano Fuentes in May 2006. [...]

Clinical trials for Mircera were undertaken in 2006, while phase I/II trials took place in 2003 and July 2004. At the time French daily Le Monde warned it could already be in the peloton. "It's possible that it was in use last year and maybe even the year before," speculated the same team representative. "I think these trials are very limited to start, and then expand. That expansion probably extends the potential for abuse."

One of the benefits of CERA is that unlike other forms of EPO, it gives a slower and more sustained reaction. It leads to remarkably stable haemoglobin concentrations in the blood, avoiding some of the troughs and peaks which can make doping manipulation evident to those who are scrutinising athletes. [...]

In a sporting context, the use of a product such as CERA would enable the rider to avoid the flucuations in hematocrit and haemoglobin which are one of the red flags indicating possible EPO use. Those injecting the substance would hope to stay under the radar, maintaining steady blood levels and thus duping the anti-doping officials.

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