Drug testing of athletes to expand as influencers fuel illicit peptides boom

Sport Integrity Australia plans to expand drug-testing in Australian sport in response to increased popularity of unregulated peptides. The agency is working with law enforcement to identify substances that could pose a doping threat, including investigating whether professional athletes are buying unregulated products online or through compounding pharmacies. Screening will be updated to include a wider variety of prohibited chemicals and to change how, when, and who is tested. Testing aligns with World Anti-Doping Agency standards, which regularly add peptides to the prohibited list and develop detection methods with pharmaceutical companies. The testing program will widen to screen more athletes for more peptides, markers, and metabolites, using intelligence and risk-informed decisions.

"Sport Integrity Australia (SIA), formerly known as ASADA, told 7.30 it is working with law enforcement agencies to identify any substances that could pose a doping threat. The organisation is also investigating if professional athletes are among those buying unregulated products online or via compounding pharmacies. SIA CEO Sarah Benson said the agency would update its screening regime to include a wider variety of prohibited chemicals and would also change "how, when and who we test"."

"Drug-testing in sport is done in line with standards set by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) , which told 7.30 it regularly adds various peptides to its prohibited list and works with pharmaceutical companies to develop accurate detection methods. Signatories to the WADA code decide which banned substances they test for. Dr Benson said SIA collects around 5,000 tests each year from more than 4,000 athletes, with approximately 65 per cent screened when they're not competing."

""As you can imagine, testing samples for everything and testing everyone for everything at all times is not efficient and not achievable," Dr Benson said. "And therefore, making sure the way we test, who we test and when we test is intelligence and risk-informed is really important." While Sport Integrity Australia currently tests for some peptides, the program will be widened to screen more athletes for a wider range of peptides, markers and metabolites; the molecules produced as the substances break down in the body."

Read at Abc