Unregulated peptides may be a new sports doping threat

Sport Integrity Australia is investigating if athletes are among those buying unregulated peptides. (ABC News: Scott Kyle) The use of illicit peptides is on the rise, in part due to promotion on social media platforms. Sport Integrity Australia is expanding drug testing to target some of these unregulated peptides. Health officials say unregulated substances have led to hospitalisations. Link copiedShareShare articleThe nation's anti-doping agency has revealed that it plans to expand drug-testing in Australian sport in response to the soaring popularity of unregulated peptides in the broader community. Amid a sharp rise in the importation and manufacturing of black and grey market peptides, 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". Sarah Benson says Sport Integrity Australia is working to identify peptides that could pose a doping threat. (ABC News: Shaun Kingma) 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. ANU Professor Lara Malins says scientists are concerned about the use of unregulated peptides because little is known about their long-term effects. (ABC News: Shaun Kingma ) Dr Benson is also concerned some athletes could unknowingly take banned or unregulated substances due to the way many are marketed online as wellness or recovery treatments. Many of those compounds being promoted by social media influencers are banned for use by regulators, including in the US. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has recently observed a significant increase in the promotion and use of unapproved peptide products, including injectable formulations, marketed for purposes such as anti-ageing, bodybuilding, tanning and weight loss. A TGA spokesperson told 7.30 the increase was largely driven by "social media promotion, influencer marketing and the portrayal of peptides as 'wellness' treatments". The TGA has issued multiple public warnings about the potential risks of taking therapeutics that have not been assessed for safety, quality or effectiveness. Professor Lara Malins says peptides have the potential to be powerful therapies but rigorous testing is needed to ensure they're safe and effective. (ABC News: Shaun Kingma) It has received reports of severe allergic reactions requiring hospitalisation, and wide-ranging side-effects including blurred vision, flu-like illnesses and severe inflammation in the body. Health authorities and experts are particularly concerned about the influx of unapproved products from overseas, including from low-cost sellers in China. Australian National University medicinal chemist Professor Lara Malins said there was no way of knowing the contents or identity of unregulated products purchased online. "You might buy something off the internet that's labelled a GLP-1 peptide, but in reality what is in that bottle might be very different to what you would expect," Professor Malins told 7.30. Casey Wesche purchased unregulated peptides online to help with weight loss. (ABC News: Scott Kyle) Brisbane-based small business owner Casey Wesche bought an unapproved peptide from an online supplier because she wanted to lose weight. She says she was so pleased with the results she decided to order more unregulated peptides, one of which is marketed as supporting skin repair and hair growth. Ms Wesche said she was not concerned by safety warnings about purchasing untested products from online suppliers. "I was forced to get a COVID injection … and it caused a lot of health issues for a lot of people," she said. "If I've done something in years to come and it's like, well this is the

Unregulated peptides may be a new sports doping threat

Key takeaways

More in international