Did EPO use really kill some riders?

[fmk_RoI]

Re:

Could anyone give me an idea on the dosage of EPO for legitimate medical purposes as opposed to how much cyclists were taking in the late 90s (ie not Riis levels)

It varies, is prescribed based on weight. I included mention here about dosage levels. The clinical dosage is not easy to explain: basically, in the US, doctors were incentivised to over-prescribe. I think I had something here on that. While that latter book doesn't cover sport, it is a worthwhile read. And while I agree with the basic thrust of Beñat Lopez's EPO Myth - an ignorant media stoked hysteria - that book is pretty clear that EPO can be dangerous (but, as the good doctor Ferrari once said, so can orange juice).

 

[Aragon]

Re:

As for Calgary, indeed the research wasn't done on athletes (my bad), but from the Dutch newspaper article I do gather that the study was aimed at studying the 'stimulating effects' of EPO, and that it does look at EPO from a performance angle. If you have access to the original Foothill study, maybe you can confirm or discard this?

Btw, in that second newspaper article (from the newspaper Amigoe) in that post from Lanark, it says that "during the Calgary Olympics the Canadian ski coach Marty Hall accused Russian athletes [Nordic skiers I assume] of using EPO".

Here's a good post on Calgary, EPO, and possible Dutch involvement:
viewtopic.php?p=852217#p852217
Cloxxki is a highly reliable poster, meaning he's not making that stuff up.
Still, of course, this is merely in the domain of rumors/gossip.
I do agree 100% with the sentence closing out that post.

Also, I believe there is some rumor/evidence/gossip linking Eindhoven to possible early EPO use, which might warrant scrutinizing performances such as PSV winning the 1988 Europacup and some other dodgy Dutch performances in that period against that background.

Because rEPO doesn't 't cure the primary disease, but deals only with secondary symptoms, all rEPO research (medical/doping/exercise physiology) has been performed on elevating hematocrit, oxygen uptake and performance, so nothing there.

While there is little reason to question the veracity of the story told by Cloxxki, in essence, it is still another story based on rumour and mysterious performance. There could be something to the story about Dutch skaters, and it is as likely that there isn't, impossible to make a conclusion to one way or another. And Cloxxki's friend wasn't totally unique in being worried about future rEPO use very early, for instance famous Finnish blood doping researcher Tapio Videman allegedly voiced some private concern about possible future rEPO abuse as early as 1986, when the product was hardly mentioned in the professional literature at all.

I have never heard Canadian coach Marty Hall accusing Soviets of rEPO use, and after going through some news items, it seems that the Dutch journalist just presumed that the blood doping accusations by Hall were a reference to the rEPO.

 

[sniper]

Cheers and fair points.

To be sure, I have no illusion that we will find a smoking gun as to when EPO first emerged. But 1988 seems realistic, I think.
Trials started in 86. For many drugs the trial phase is when athletes start using it.
And as cloxxki said, doctors/athletes who were into blooddoping at the time must have jumped on EPO like flies on fresh poo.

If the question really interests you, you might want to look into Montgomery securities, their role in exploiting EPO, and then check out Thom Weisel's cycling palmares.
He started training with Eddie B. in 1985 and started winning Masters races in 1989 and beyond.
Also ask yourself why around the same time former Eddie B. protege Greg Lemond invests money in Montgomery. Then check out the "evidence only" thread where you'll find a link to an interesting Dutch newspaper article from 1990. Then ask yourself, how plausible is that whistleblower's claim?

A thing I was wondering if you (or FMK) could help me out with: when we refer to 'the Donati dossier', are we referring to what is published on this website? https://sites.google.com/site/dopingitalia/home/documenti/doping-nel-ciclismo---dossier-di-sandro-donati-1994
I mean is that all there is, or is there a more elaborate version of that dossier?
If that's all there is, is there anywhere a concise summary of who the abbreviations refer to?

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re:

A thing I was wondering if you (or FMK) could help me out with: when we refer to 'the Donati dossier', are we referring to what is published on this website? https://sites.google.com/site/dopingitalia/home/documenti/doping-nel-ciclismo---dossier-di-sandro-donati-1994
I mean is that all there is, or is there a more elaborate version of that dossier?
If that's all there is, is there anywhere a concise summary of who the abbreviations refer to?

You know sniper, if you didn't spend so much time willfully misrepresenting things I - and others - have said, I'd actually be willing to help and answer that question, including the bit about the names of Donati's interviewees.

 

[Aragon]

Re:

To be sure, I have no illusion that we will find a smoking gun as to when EPO first emerged. But 1988 seems realistic, I think.
Trials started in 86. For many drugs the trial phase is when athletes start using it.
And as cloxxki said, doctors/athletes who were into blooddoping at the time must have jumped on EPO like flies on fresh poo.

For the reasons I've described, it was significantly more difficult to obtain rEPO in 1987/1988 than from 1989 onwards. I would even make a sophisticated quess that it would've been easier to organise transfusions than get black market source for rEPO before the product appeared in pharmacies. Even the incentives of cyclists to get super-expensive black market sources are not clear, as unlike many exotic and unique molecules (AICAR, GW1516), rEPO was still in issence not an unique product but only "old-school-blood-doping-made-easier".

That having been written, here is an interesting news item from 1989, when it was announced that a Swedish team of researchers (led by Björn Ekblom) had the first results of the first-ever research on the performance enhancing properties of rEPO on athletes. It appears that Swedish cross-country skiing star Gunde Svan also considered that rEPO could've been in the toolbox of some of his competitors:

"DET KAN REDAN HA ÄNVANTS"
Det nya dopindmedlet kan ha använts av toppidrottsmän i flera år.
Det tror svenske skidstjärnan Gunde Svan
- Om det här är tre år gammalt redan är det ju inte säkert att det som vi trott varit bloddoping verkligen varit det, säger Gunde.
Att hormonet erythropoietin varit mycket dyrt och nästan omöjligt att få tag på på världsmarknaden ser Gunde Svan inte som en garanti för att det inte redan förekommit dopingfall med det nya hormonmedlet.
- I värsta fall has bloddoping redan varit omodernt i tre år, säger Gunde.
-[Det] vore konstigt annars. Dom har alltid legat före forskningen tidigare. Varför skulle de inte göra det nu när det inte finns mer resurser för forskning? Har preparatet funnits två-tre år känner ju forskarna till det och då lär det vara många idrottsmän som har kontroll på det också, säger Gunde.
STEFAN ALFELT

Interesting item, even when I don't believe the story.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re: Re:

For the reasons I've described, it was significantly more difficult to obtain rEPO in 1987/1988 than from 1989 onwards. I would even make a sophisticated quess that it would've been easier to organise transfusions than get black market source for rEPO before the product appeared in pharmacies. Even the incentives of cyclists to get super-expensive black market sources are not clear, as unlike many exotic and unique molecules (AICAR, GW1516), rEPO was still in issence not an unique product but only "old-school-blood-doping-made-easier".

Not disagreeing with that - 1989 easier than 1987/88 but don't ignore the claims that pharma reps were specifically targeting athletes. I don't think you're going to see much use of EPO pre 89, but some there could be.

 

[Aragon]

Re: Re:

For the reasons I've described, it was significantly more difficult to obtain rEPO in 1987/1988 than from 1989 onwards. I would even make a sophisticated quess that it would've been easier to organise transfusions than get black market source for rEPO before the product appeared in pharmacies. Even the incentives of cyclists to get super-expensive black market sources are not clear, as unlike many exotic and unique molecules (AICAR, GW1516), rEPO was still in issence not an unique product but only "old-school-blood-doping-made-easier".

Not disagreeing with that - 1989 easier than 1987/88 but don't ignore the claims that pharma reps were specifically targeting athletes. I don't think you're going to see much use of EPO pre 89, but some there could be.

On general level, I don't disagree with the murky incentives that companies have in selling some of their products.

On the blood doping hormone, I think that a few people deny, that rEPO was a financial success story and athletes constituted a significant share of AMGEN's customers. If I recall correctly, there was even a Dutch study some years ago concluding that a vast majority of rEPO went to non-medical use, ie. for doping purposes. They based this conclusion on a formula based on the amount of dialysis/AIDS-patients receiving the product and compared to the total sales... or something similar.

While the revenues from sports circles turned out to be enormous, I find it difficult to imagine that the original motivation for AMGEN was to use tens of million of dollars in early 1980s to develop the synthetic version of EPO mainly for athletes to use. Had either the efficacy of blood doping been proven obsolete or had there been an rEPO-test developed when the product became available, they would've ran out of customers pretty quickly. The decisions of AMGEN after rEPO spread like a wildfire into the sports circles is totally another matter.

That is how I read the story. I'd actually be interested to know if anyone familiar with the book Blood Medicine by Kathleen Sharp could shed more light on the story in case that I am totally wrong.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re: Re:

While the revenues from sports circles turned out to be enormous, I find it difficult to imagine that the original motivation for AMGEN was to use tens of million of dollars in early 1980s to develop the synthetic version of EPO mainly for athletes to use. Had either the efficacy of blood doping been proven obsolete or had there been an rEPO-test developed when the product became available, they would've ran out of customers pretty quickly. The decisions of AMGEN after rEPO spread like a wildfire into the sports circles is totally another matter.

It's as likely as the inventors of the Short Message Service inventing it so they could charge 12¢ a pop for your texts.

That is how I read the story. I'd actually be interested to know if anyone familiar with the book Blood Medicine by Kathleen Sharp could shed more light on the story in case that I am totally wrong.

I linked to a review of it above. She barely mentions sport. For her sources, there was too much money in the proper medical use (or even the improper medical use) of it to be bothered with sport. (Don't forget - some, like Donati, argue that much of the product was sold illegally after being stolen from hospitals etc.)

 

[Aragon]

Re: Re:

While the revenues from sports circles turned out to be enormous, I find it difficult to imagine that the original motivation for AMGEN was to use tens of million of dollars in early 1980s to develop the synthetic version of EPO mainly for athletes to use. Had either the efficacy of blood doping been proven obsolete or had there been an rEPO-test developed when the product became available, they would've ran out of customers pretty quickly. The decisions of AMGEN after rEPO spread like a wildfire into the sports circles is totally another matter.

It's as likely as the inventors of the Short Message Service inventing it so they could charge 12¢ a pop for your texts.

That is how I read the story. I'd actually be interested to know if anyone familiar with the book Blood Medicine by Kathleen Sharp could shed more light on the story in case that I am totally wrong.

I linked to a review of it above. She barely mentions sport. For her sources, there was too much money in the proper medical use (or even the improper medical use) of it to be bothered with sport. (Don't forget - some, like Donati, argue that much of the product was sold illegally after being stolen from hospitals etc.)

In the case you missed my key point, it was that when AMGEN started the rEPO-project around 1980, the official story of developing rEPO for patients (kidney and later AIDS) was a good enough incentive without the assumed sports connection, which every potential investor could've considered a shaky source of future income at best for the two reasons I described above. If I recall correctly, in 1980, there was only one published double-blind placebo-controlled study on the efficacy of blood doping that used well-trained athletes.

There seems to be some Donati's stories in the Internet about stolen rEPO, but they are from 1990s, so I'd be more than curious to know if Donati makes similar claims about 1980s. The existence of black market in 1990s comes as a no surprise, as the "legal" use of EPO by the American dialysis patients alone was some 14 times higher (in dollar terms) in 1998 than in 1989, so also was the availability of the product to disappear from circulation to the black market.

http://www.uninet.edu/cin2000/conferences/seoane/sld034.htm

In the end, it is difficult to disprove that there weren't some black market sources of rEPO supplying sportspeople with the drug before 1989, but the existence of those sources is far from certain.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re: Re:

In the case you missed my key point, it was that when AMGEN started the rEPO-project around 1980, the official story of developing rEPO for patients (kidney and later AIDS) was a good enough incentive without the assumed sports connection, which every potential investor could've considered a shaky source of future income at best for the two reasons I described above. If I recall correctly, in 1980, there was only one published double-blind placebo-controlled study on the efficacy of blood doping that used well-trained athletes.

I think I got the point, but for sure, restate it for those who believe it was all a plan by Tom Weisel to put an American on the top step of the Tour's podium before the millennium was out.

There seems to be some Donati's stories in the Internet about stolen rEPO, but they are from 1990s, so I'd be more than curious to know if Donati makes similar claims about 1980s.

None, to the best of my knowledge.

The existence of black market in 1990s comes as a no surprise, as the "legal" use of EPO by the American dialysis patients alone was some 14 times higher (in dollar terms) in 1998 than in 1989, so also was the availability of the product to disappear from circulation to the black market.

Blood Medicine is more concerned with some of the key reasons behind that legit increase in the US: the incentives given to doctors, the manner in which the recommended dosage was upped and upped and upped, the manner in which sales reps were encouraged to sell it for non-approved usage. (It goes without saying that of course you might expect the number in later years to have been higher than in year one / year two but I'll say it, just in case anyone thinks those are the only reasons for the increase.)

 

[proffate]

Iranian paralympics racer crashed out of a race then had a fatal heart attack on the way to the hospital. What could possibly explain that (doping or otherwise)? I'm not a doctor but wtf. Should I be worried about heart attacks following my bike crashes?

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re:

Iranian paralympics racer crashed out of a race then had a fatal heart attack on the way to the hospital. What could possibly explain that (doping or otherwise)? I'm not a doctor but wtf. Should I be worried about heart attacks following my bike crashes?

Time and a place. Wrong time, wrong place. Show some respect.

 

[proffate]

Re: Re:

Iranian paralympics racer crashed out of a race then had a fatal heart attack on the way to the hospital. What could possibly explain that (doping or otherwise)? I'm not a doctor but wtf. Should I be worried about heart attacks following my bike crashes?

Time and a place. Wrong time, wrong place. Show some respect.

Do tell -- what is the right time and place to ask these questions? Or is learning from others' tragedies disrespectful?

 

[rata de sentina]

Re:

Iranian paralympics racer crashed out of a race then had a fatal heart attack on the way to the hospital. What could possibly explain that (doping or otherwise)? I'm not a doctor but wtf. Should I be worried about heart attacks following my bike crashes?

Head trauma can result in cardiac arrest which you would have found out for yourself if you had bothered to google it instead of inserting your irrelevant post in this thread and gormlessly insinuating this poor bloke was doping.

 

[Tienus]

There seems to be some Donati's stories in the Internet about stolen rEPO, but they are from 1990s, so I'd be more than curious to know if Donati makes similar claims about 1980s. The existence of black market in 1990s comes as a no surprise, as the "legal" use of EPO by the American dialysis patients alone was some 14 times higher (in dollar terms) in 1998 than in 1989, so also was the availability of the product to disappear from circulation to the black market.

I was reading an old article which mentioned Marie Rose Boite.
http://www.dopeology.org/people/Marie-Rose_Bo%C3%AEte/
She was using prescriptions from deceased patients at the hospital she was working. She was stealing EPO but those ampuls would have been registered as legally prescribed.
http://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/gm11dm03o
A friend of mine is waiting for a kidney transplant and his fridge is full of EPO for use after dialysis. He is out of a job due to his kidney failure. Im sure patients in the same situation in the eighties would have been keen to make a profit.

I managed to get a hard copy of the David Jenkins interview in which he mentions EPO in 1988. He got arrested in February 87 and was released on bail four months later. His trial was in December 88. Before his trial he had the interview.
From the interview:
E.P.O. - Stimulates production of red blood cells. To combine with blood doping. Popular amongst long distance runners.

 

[Aragon]

Re:

As I have been on the skeptical side on the rEPO-related gossip about 1980s and far from being alone, the skepticism and easy dismissal of the rumours almost begs for an explanation.

It is indeed interesting to speculate why the gossip about rEPO use spread like a wildfire as soon as the existence of the hormone was published around 1988. One possible and totally reasonable explanation could be that the substance indeed was used as early as 1988 or even a year or two earlier, but I can find another explanation for the start of the gossip.

The good starting point is to contrast this rEPO-panic to the old-school blood doping and on how the gossip relating to the use of (auto)transfusions spread after the first media reports emerged in 1971. The gossip about possible (mis)use of transfusions started strikingly slowly and it is a difficult task (but not impossible one) to find the method even mentioned in media reports before the 1976 Summer Olympics, when Finn Lasse Viren became the target of the most public accusations. Even after this event, the public opinion took at least steps towards the direction that the rumoured "blood packings" were after all just gossip when two well-conducted double blind research papers were published in 1977-1978 that found no enhancement in performance relating to the method.

The list of sportspeople who publicly dismissed transfusions as ineffective in 1970s is endless, among them officials of sports governing bodies, athletes, team doctors, journalists, top hematologists and academic researchers. For instance, future anti-doping specialist Dr. Jean-Pierre de Mondenard could write as late as 1982 that "the technique of transfusion is as dangerous as its effectiveness is unproven" and that the method "can be likened to the increase in the number of wagons (represented by the red corpuscles) in a goods train, without these waggons being filled to the top, so that the total volume transported would not be increased".

http://library.la84.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1982/ore172/ORE172n.pdf

Most of these people were totally sincere and many were even well aware about the latest developments in the field of exercise physiology, but still many people must've considered them as naïve dupes when reading these statements retrospectively later when it became apparent that a) blood doping increased performance and b) it was used by sportspeople as early as 1972.

So I would trace the origins to the rEPO-panic of late 1980s to the "better safe than sorry"- approach, because nobody wanted to be considered as a dupe, idiot or a whitewasher. In additional contrast to the old school blood doping in 1971, the mechanism of elevated hematocrit was pretty much proven when the media reports about existence of rEPO appeared.

I should emphasize that this doesn't lead to the conclusion that there isn't anything in the rumours and I still would encourage Tienus and other contributors to look for this type of information even in the future.

 

[sniper]

You make a good case and there is probably some truth in it.
But not all those reports can be subsumed under the lable 'EPO-panic'.
E.g. the Jenkins interview quite soberly claims that EPO is popular among long distance runners.
There is no panic. It's neutral.
Same is true for some other reports about rumored EPO use in the late 80s.
They're not all characterized by panic.

 

[Aragon]

Re:

Even if the person who finally reveals publicly an EPO-related rumor is honest and trustworthy, it doesn't prove at all that the origin of the particular claim in the chain of rumor isn't panic-fueled and overstated fear of "others" taking advantage of rEPO.

David Jenkins is absolutely right on the target in the sense that rEPO was theoretically popular, as everyone must've been discussing about the substance from the day its existence was revealed, and one can only imagine how much there must've been suspicions whenever an individual, a team or a country took sudden leap forward in performance for one reason or another.

But the significance of Mr. Jenkins's one-line reference is another matter, as there is nothing on how he knows the information or whether it is just his impression or is there even an iota of supporting evidence. In essence, it is just a vague claim thrown into the air and in fairness also most likely the gut instinct that many followers of endurance sports had even then.

 

[sniper]

Re: Re:

Even if the person who finally reveals publicly an EPO-related rumor is honest and trustworthy, it doesn't prove at all that the origin of the particular claim in the chain of rumor isn't panic-fueled and overstated fear of "others" taking advantage of rEPO.

David Jenkins is absolutely right on the target in the sense that rEPO was theoretically popular, as everyone must've been discussing about the substance from the day its existence was revealed, and one can only imagine how much there must've been suspicions whenever an individual, a team or a country took sudden leap forward in performance for one reason or another.

But the significance of Mr. Jenkins's one-line reference is another matter, as there is nothing on how he knows the information or whether it is just his impression or is there even an iota of supporting evidence. In essence, it is just a vague claim thrown into the air and in fairness also most likely the gut instinct that many followers of endurance sports had even then.

So what is your standpoint?
Can I summarize your view thus: "EPO was probably used occasionally pre-1990, but not as frequently as some observers have made us belief"...?
If that's your view, I would probably agree.

 

[Tienus]

The list of sportspeople who publicly dismissed transfusions as ineffective in 1970s is endless, among them officials of sports governing bodies, athletes, team doctors, journalists, top hematologists and academic researchers. For instance, future anti-doping specialist Dr. Jean-Pierre de Mondenard could write as late as 1982 that "the technique of transfusion is as dangerous as its effectiveness is unproven

In the nineties I've heard those involved in pro sport many times denying the effect of EPO, there was even a study last year from acadamic researchers.
De Mondenard is an interesting name to quote wrt the topic title as he is what I belief the first person to report EPO deaths. It was in an article in March 1990 in Le Figaro called: sept morts sans ordonnance. De Modenard has also been the tour doctor in the early seventees. At that time there was according to him an unusual high death rate due to amfetamines and cortisones

 

[Tienus]

But the significance of Mr. Jenkins's one-line reference is another matter, as there is nothing on how he knows the information or whether it is just his impression or is there even an iota of supporting evidence. In essence, it is just a vague claim thrown into the air and in fairness also most likely the gut instinct that many followers of endurance sports had even then.

True.
However after reading the article I have the impression that he knows what he is talking about.
If you understand Dutch its an interesting read.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/148570344@N04/30558210775/in/shares-P41SXg/

After the 1988 Winter Olympics (February) and before the summer olympics the IOC was defenitely aware.

http://articles.latimes.com/1988-07-18/sports/sp-4353_1_drug-testing-programs/2
"One doctor who is familiar with the drug said it would be more effective than blood doping and would leave the system in about two days."
"Since EPO is still in the experimental stage, it is difficult to obtain. Sports officials say they are not yet concerned about its possible use by athletes."

http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=epo+&page=5&cql%5B%5D=%28date+_gte_+%2201-01-1984%22%29&cql%5B%5D=%28date+_lte_+%2231-12-1989%22%29&coll=ddd&identifier=KBNRC01%3A000029313%3Ampeg21%3Aa0093&resultsidentifier=KBNRC01%3A000029313%3Ampeg21%3Aa0093
The IOC was discussing EPO an HGH at a doping congres in Ottawa.
Arnold Beckett, part of the IOC medical comittee: Blood doping is being used for three decades.

 

[Aragon]

Re:

After the 1988 Winter Olympics (February) and before the summer olympics the IOC was defenitely aware.

I would say that it is crystal clear that IOC was aware of rEPO already during the 1988 Winter Olympics, because Prince Alexandre de Merode - head of the IOC Medical Commission - commented publicly about it.

http://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/02/10/Athletes-who-use-blood-doping-to-improve-performances-will-escape/7318571467600/

That is a news item from news agency UPI and it spread to the newspapers all over the world. Interestingly the author intreprets a sentence by Merode in a manner that "[h]e also said athletes are now taking Erythropoetin, a drug that can increase the blood's oxygen supply". That is almost certainly a misinterpretation as two weeks later there is an article in a Finnish newspaper based also on a international telegram item where de Merode claims in direct quotation the following:

EPO is still at its testing period and in the future it will certainly help kidney patients. It is difficult for me to believe that athletes have used it at Calgary. The substance is produced only in a few laboratories in United States, East Germany [sic.] and Japan.

 

[Cloxxki]

At Calgary 1988, the Dutch speed skaters butchered the East Germans. And those East Germans have basically come forward in shame saying they didn't really know what they were on, but it worked like crazy. A previously injured Dutchie got 3 golds, 2 of them in WR's I seem to remember. The queen of clean. In the years after, a pattern emerged of injured Dutch athletes coming back to win big right away. Holistic therapy and all that.
Insiders in both EPO/cycling and skating from the 80's tell me Calgary was the big premiere.
Happy to report this is off-topic as most of those speed skaters seem to still be alive. Appreciate that the 1500m dominated for a while by suspect Norwegians takes around or under 2 minutes only. So its effect may not only be there for recovery of 100m track sprinters (Dwain Chambers, courtesy Victor Conte brief) but also at mid distance. And obviously long distance.

 

[Tienus]

EPO is still at its testing period and in the future it will certainly help kidney patients. It is difficult for me to believe that athletes have used it at Calgary.

I'm not surprised these are his words after Marthy Hall accused the Russians of using EPO at the games. In my view he is playing it down like a proper politician.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1414375/Prince-Alexandre-de-Merode.html
"De Mérode was at the centre of a number of alleged scandals involving drug-taking at the Olympics, notably at Los Angeles in 1984 and Seoul in 1988. Yet his own integrity was never doubted by his colleagues, who knew him as a fervent defender of Olympic values and a fierce opponent of drug-taking in sport."
In Calgary he let Goeljajev ride and win gold after he was just busted for dealing anabolics to a Norwegian skater.

EPO was being tested for its performance enhancement qualities at the Foothill hospital in Calgary at the time of the olympics. According to dr Mandin it was safely placed in a safe to prevent athletes from stealing it.
http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?coll=ddd&query=%28foothills+epo%29&cql%5B%5D=%28date+_gte_+%2201-01-1618%22%29&cql%5B%5D=%28date+_lte_+%2231-12-1995%22%29&identifier=ddd%3A011005055%3Ampeg21%3Aa0267&resultsidentifier=ddd%3A011005055%3Ampeg21%3Aa0267

A year later at an event in Monte Carlo called "doping in sport" (not anti doping?)
http://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?cql%5B%5D=%28date+_gte_+%2201-01-1984%22%29&cql%5B%5D=%28date+_lte_+%2231-12-1989%22%29&query=epo+bloed&coll=ddd&identifier=ddd%3A010642621%3Ampeg21%3Aa0098&resultsidentifier=ddd%3A010642621%3Ampeg21%3Aa0098
Dr Mandin from the Foothill hospital was a speaker on EPO.
Arnold Beckett from the IOC medical comittee stated that EPO was available with a prescription in some countries. Arne Ljungqvist a honorary IOC member refuted that quickly and claimed EPO was difficult to obtain.

In the Netherlands ziekenfonds (Dutch equivelant of NHS) decided to pay the expensive EPO medication from January 1989. This coincides with when PDM started buying EPO locally. I think doctors would simply prescribe it for athletes.

 

[Aragon]

Re:

I'm not surprised these are his words after Marthy Hall accused the Russians of using EPO at the games. In my view he is playing it down like a proper politician...

EPO was being tested for its performance enhancement qualities at the Foothill hospital in Calgary at the time of the olympics. According to dr Mandin it was safely placed in a safe to prevent athletes from stealing it...

Arnold Beckett from the IOC medical comittee stated that EPO was available with a prescription in some countries. Arne Ljungqvist a honorary IOC member refuted that quickly and claimed EPO was difficult to obtain.

In the Netherlands ziekenfonds (Dutch equivelant of NHS) decided to pay the expensive EPO medication from January 1989. This coincides with when PDM started buying EPO locally. I think doctors would simply prescribe it for athletes.

This material has been partially dealt in the earlier page of this thread so I'll try to answer shortly.

Marty Hall almost certainly didn't accuse Soviets of using rEPO but referred to transfusions. I've seen a few dozen news items about the incident based on the same UPI/AP - articles and recall seeing only one article where name rEPO is mentioned, so most likely the author mixed up the publicity surrounding rEPO and the accusation. Merode actually admitted during the games that while anti-doping doctors allegedly looked for needle marks as a sign of blood doping use and reported nothing suspicious, he could not be certain that someone might not have taken use of the method. (The needle mark -test is a joke and at least one Italian cross-country skier has admitted taking transfusion for the games.)

In many cases 1989 was the landmark year in the history of Erythropoietin, as the product was approved for sale and most of the brand names of rEPO found their way into the markets (Epogen, Eprex etc). I have a recollection, that there were some limitations where it was sold and administered (pharmacies/dialysis centers) and whether every doctor could write a prescription, but in any case its availability increased significantly. The Italian newspaper La Stampa for instance warned already in November, 1989 that since June, "a new strong blood doping called erythropoietin" has been available "from the first pharmacy on the Swiss soil, forty kilometers from Milan".

http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,1/articleid,0008_01_1989_0256_0001_25046561/

If I am not mistaken, the PDM/Wim Sanders - inquiry of late 1990s also placed the first instances of rEPO-purchases around 1989 or 1990, assuming that the information reported is trustworthy. That has been strikingly underreported inquiry in the English literature and I'd be interested to know if you have opinion/additional information on that matter through Dutch sources.

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/archives/nov97/nov29.html

Still Björn Ekblom and Bo Berglund told that they had to go through a lot of red tape in order to get hold of the expensive product for their rEPO-tests with athletes in 1989 and they were heavily under the impression that rEPO was in so short supply an difficult to obtain that athletes most likely had no access to use yet.