January 21, 2011
Going for a long ride? HemAssist, DCLHb or HBOC – whatever the name, it’s in the news. A bit more on what it is, does
It’s “a Hemoglobin-based Oxygen Carrier (HBOC), part of a class of drugs that is engineered to carry oxygen” and it was discontinued in 2008. But there is speculation that a deal was done and stocks kept for future use. By athletes, not blood-loss trauma patients. Read the links for more. Remember, this is speculation and allegation only and completely subject to denial by the parties named!
The Science of Sport: The drug of 2011? HemAssist and Armstrong
HemAssist: A drug you’ll never use, but you’ll be hearing more about
Talking Points | Boulder Report
The most damaging allegation in the SI piece is that in the late 1990s, Armstrong gained access to an investigational drug called HemAssist. That drug, an experimental hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier, was in clinical trials during the time frame SI identifies.HBOCs, as they’re known, are essentially blood substitutes devised for use in trauma medicine. They’re recombinantly engineered, stabilized hemoglobin molecules that replace the oxygen-transport capabilities of normal human blood, at least for a short time.
