Technological capability of doping control laboratories: a metric proposal

Abstract

The use of increasingly advanced doping techniques in sports requires constant investments in new detection processes and technologies, forcing doping control laboratories to develop their innovative capability. Although WADA considers that all accredited labs should have equal quality, sports scientists point to the huge economic and cultural differences between emerging and developed countries. This article is in line with other studies that: (1) consider doping to be a biomedical technology that needs to be analysed under the lens of innovation theory; and (2) advocate the need to redesign antidrug policies to overcome the present limitations. This paper's main objective is to present a technological capability (TC) metric for anti-doping labs that can guide their technological strategy, helping them perform a more significant role in redesigning antidrug policy. The secondary objective is to report the testing of the metric at the Brazilian Doping Control Laboratory (LBCD). The construction of the analytical framework followed the recommendations for qualitative metrics. The main result was the TC metric, formulated with input from experts on doping control. Interviews revealed that the proposed metric could help laboratories better manage their R&D processes, including drug testing. The collected evidence suggests that a global network approach, including WADA requirements that consider countries' economic realities, are crucial to guide investments and prevent drug control labs from prioritising short-term profits over steady investments in R&D.

Analytical developments of p‐hydroxy prenylamine reference material for dope control research: Characterization and purity assessment

“…The specific, sensitive, and comprehensive detection of prohibited substances is the major aspect of routine doping controls. The misuse of new nonapproved drug candidates or chemical substances that has no detailed information and the identification of these drugs in the body are the challenges included in the dope control 4,5 . It is very much essential to perform phase I and phase II metabolism studies of the doping agents to understand the metabolic signatures.…”

“…The misuse of new nonapproved drug candidates or chemical substances that has no detailed information and the identification of these drugs in the body are the challenges included in the dope control. 4,5 It is very much essential to perform phase I and phase II metabolism studies of the doping agents to understand the metabolic signatures. The bioactive metabolites of the prohibited substances may be used as a potential target of analysis to identify the doping case.…”