Irony of Amgen sponsoring Tour of California when Epogen used by cyclists

[steroidbot]

Amgen, cycling tour make an odd couple
San Diego Union Tribune, CA
Erythropoietin, or EPO, is a glycoprotein hormone made by the kidneys that stimulates the body's production of red blood cells. A major medical breakthrough came in 1989, when a synthetic version of EPO called Epogen was approved to treat anemia and cancer patients.

Endurance athletes, and in particular professional cyclists, quickly discovered another, more insidious use. Red blood cells carry oxygen to the muscles, and regular injections of Epogen could mean a sudden and significant increase in performance – so much that riders not on the stuff essentially had no chance. [...]

...title sponsor of the Amgen Tour of California cycling race, which comes to San Diego County for the first time Sunday with the 2009 event's eighth and final stage from Rancho Bernardo to Escondido.

“It certainly seems ironic,” says Victor Conte, the mastermind behind the BALCO doping scandal, “that Amgen makes the blood-doping drug that almost destroyed professional cycling.”
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