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CERA: the new EPO discovered at the Tour de France

Thursday, 17 July 2008
Stephen Farrand
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The head of the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) Pierre Bordry has confirmed that Riccardo Ricco, Moises Duenas and Manuel Beltran all tested positive for CERA, the third generation form of EPO.

CERA or Continuous Erythropoiesis Receptor Activator is a new form of EPO, created by the Swiss company Roche, that has been created to help dialysis patients or people with kidney problems.

The drug stimulates the kidneys to produce EPO which in turn stimulates the bone marrow to increase the creation of red blood cells. More red blood cells allow the body to carry more oxygen and so increases an athlete's performance.

CERA, or Mircera as it is known commercially, has been approved for medical use in Switzerland and Australia and is close to final approval across Europe. Roche applied to sell the drug in the USA last year but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused to approve the drug for use in the USA because it infringed patents belonging to the original creator and producer of EPO, the US-based Amgen, that sponsors the Tour of California.

CERA offers benefits over older forms of EPO because it is has a slower release rate or creation of red blood cells in the body. For patients that means fewer injections, perhaps even just once a month, and lower health care costs for hospitals. For athletes it means they can take the blood booster less frequently and so reduce the risk of being caught because EPO is difficult to detect a few days after it has been injected.

A test for EPO was first introduced for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. CERA is on the WADA list of banned products but it seems that riders thought that the test was unable to find CERA. WADA is known to be working on a test but it seems the testers have caught up with the dopers far quicker than anyone expected.

Three riders have been so far in this year’s Tour de France and now the worry is that other riders could have taken CERA. The AFLD have confirmed that other riders have been tested several times in the first half of the Tour de France and so in theory, other riders could result positive for CERA in the next few days.