The performance-enhancing drug giving anti-doping agencies a headache
The banned substance that can be transferred via sweat
- Ostarine, a drug developed by James Dalton to help cancer patients rebuild muscle, has become a highly contentious substance in elite sport.
- Despite its medical potential as a safer alternative to steroids, no selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) like Ostarine has received clinical approval due to concerns about side effects such as liver damage.
- After its chemical structure became public, Ostarine was illegally manufactured and sold as a sports supplement, leading the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) to ban it in 2008.
- Ostarine is now the most frequently detected SARM in athlete samples, posing a significant challenge due to strict liability rules where athletes are responsible for any banned substance, even from unintentional contamination or transfer via sweat.
- James Dalton is now actively involved in funding research to help anti-doping authorities distinguish between deliberate doping and accidental exposure, aiming to protect innocent athletes.
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