Several places where the famous actovegin was found.
2006 Operacion Puerto
The black bag of Dr. Fuentes
By Andrew Hood
VeloNews European correspondent
This report filed July 1, 2006
Police were surprised when they raided the Madrid apartment of Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes on May 23 to find a cornucopia of products ranging from human growth hormones, testosterone patches, EPO and insulin.
In one apartment, 96 pouches of frozen blood and 20 pouches of frozen plasma were found, while in another office, an additional 89 pouches of frozen blood and 19 pouches of frozen plasma were among the haul.
Among centrifuges and other medical apparatus to extract and transfuse blood, members of the doping squad of Spain's Guardia Civil found were more than 100 different products.
The information was part of a condensed version of a 500-page dossier of court and police records that Spanish authorities gave to UCI and Tour de France officials ahead of Saturday's stage.
Here is a sampling of the products found by authorities as printed in Saturday's edition of L'Equipe after reporters gained access to the report:
100 packets of Actovegin - bovine hemo-derivative
25 ampules of Solcoeryl
Andriol and Androderm - testosterone patches
Eposine - off-market version of EPO made in China
Norditropine - human growth hormone
Synacthene - form of cortisone
Cafeine
Atrapid - insulin
Legalin - blood preservative
Iederfolin - foliac acid
Thioctacid - vitamin extract
Spirulina - nutritional
Benexol, Vidroxil - vitamin injections
Prozac, Diazepam, Rohyprol
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Manzano's list
A list of the products that Manzano has referred to in his interviews.
Actovegin (extract of calves blood which supposedly improves oxygen carrying capacity)
Albumina H. (protein in blood plasma)
Androgel (testosterone)
Aranesp (Darbepoetin alfa = super EPO)
Celestote (corticosteroid)
Eprex (EPO)
Genotorm (growth hormone)
Hemoce (plasma)
Deca durabolin (anabolic steroid)
Humatrope (growth hormone)
IgF1 (insulin growth factor 1)
Neofertinon (hormone to stimulate ovulation and estrogen production)
Neorecormon (hormone that regulates red blood cell production)
Norditropin (growth hormone)
Nuvacten (corticosteroid)
Trigon (asthma drug)
Urbason (corticosteroid)
Ventolin (bronchial dilator)
Oxandrolona (anabolic agent)
Vitamin B12 (essential B vitamin)
Triamcinolona (corticosteroid)
Testoviron (testosterone)
Aspirina (analgesic, anti-inflammatory)
Oxyglobin (artificial haemoglobin intended for anaemic dogs)
Hemopure (artificial haemoglobin)
Ferlixit (iron)
Caffeine (stimulant)
Hemassist (artificial haemoglobin)
Prozac (antidepressant)
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First Edition Cycling News for March 27, 2004
Manzano's laundry list
"Actovegin gas bus"
Actovegin, another animal product, is essentially the plasma of a young calf. Manzano noted that the product he used was came from Germany and was quite expensive, referred to in cycling as the "gas bus", meaning it was used for particularly difficult races or stages. Actovegin is said to oxygenate the blood and provide a significant boost in power over a short time.
"In the short time trials it was used in the morning, but for difficult stages where there would be a lot of attacks, it was injected the previous day," Manzano explained. "When preparing for a time trial the 'gas bus' is combined with bicarbonate, lactic acid, and a brand of caffeine that is injected in the buttocks, which by the way, really hurts."
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News for September 13, 2002
Edita Rumsas's pharmacy unveiled
The full list of medications in Edita Rumsas's possession was disclosed in today's l'Equipe, with no fewer than 37 different substances named, some of which are considered doping products, specifically growth hormones and testosterone, with corticoids, insulin and caffeine legal under certain conditions/quantities. There is so far no proof to connect the cache to Raimondas Rumsas and his Tour de France campaign, with both Raimondas and Edita claiming that the products were destined for Edita's mother.
Raimondas Rumsas, who spoke with French police for nearly two hours in Italy, has maintained that his Tour de France was clean.
The following are the substances and quantities seized from Mrs. Rumsas on July 28th:
3 flasks of Actovegin
1 flask of Norditropin penset 24 (growth hormone)
1 flask of TAD 600
1 flask of solvent for Norditropin
1 injection of Actrapid Novolet (insulin)
1 box of Spascupreel
1 box of albumine humaine 20 %
1 box of Ubichinon Compositum (co-enzyme Q)
2 boxes of Thyreoida Compositum (hormone extracts)
3 boxes of Testis Compositum (hormone extracts)
2 ampoules of Coffeinum (caffeine)
1 ampoule of Celestone (anti-inflammatory)
1 ampoule of Benexol B12 5000 (vitamins)
3 ampoules of Ketonal
3 flasks of Kenacort [censored] (corticoids)
1 box of Toco 500 (vitamin E)
1 bottle of sodium chloride 0.9
3 capsules of No Spa Forte
15 capsules of Durvitan (caffeine)
10 ampoules and one tablet of Pentohexal 300 (vasodilator)
1 box and three tablets of MAG 2 (magnesium)
12 capsules of Ozothine
15 capsules of Optalidon
2 packets of Eurythrox 50
2 boxes of Immunoferon (immuno-stimulants)
2 boxes of Trofalgon
1 box of Androderm (testosterone)
6 capsules and one ampoule of Alphalipon (improves nervous functions)
2 tablets of Stilnox
4 capsules of Oltramp
30 tablets of Bentelan (corticoids)
30 tablets and 4 ampoules of Voltaren (anti-inflammatory)
3 tablets of Praxilen
1 tablet of Cafiaspirina (caffeine and aspirin)
1 ampoule of sterile water and one flask of Haes-Steril
1 flask of Geref (enhances production of endogenous HG)
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Rumsas tests positive during Giro d'Italia
William Fotheringham
Thursday June 12, 2003
The Guardian
Rumsas has yet to offer an adequate explanation for the substantial haul of performance-enhancing drugs found by customs police in Chamonix in his car on the final day of the race.
The stash of 37 substances included growth hormones, insulin, testosterone preparations, cortisone, the calf's liver extract actovegin, and plasma-diluting substances which could be used to counter the blood-thickening effects of EPO. Rumsas claimed that they were for his mother-in-law.
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Latest Cycling News for June 1, 2004
Drugs found in Cles
The Nas and the prosecutor's office in Trento are investigating the discovery of a cache of drugs found in a waste bin in Cles, the starting point of the 18th stage of the Giro d'Italia, according to an ANSA report. The syringes, which were contained in a black bag, reportedly included quantities of Actovegin and are currently being analysed to determine the exact nature of the drugs.
On the evening after Stage 16, Italian Nas police carried out a raid on eight riders in their hotels in Brunico, but didn't find anything incriminating.
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Actovegin
In 2000, when it starts to make speak about him, this drug explicitly does not form part of the list of the prohibited products although it contains derivatives of calf blood. In an official statement published the 11/12/2000, medical commission of the precise CIO that the substance is prohibited under the category of blood doping.
It is indicated for the arterial insufficiencies. It would act more particularly on blood circulation in the brain (according to WPS).
This drug would have been used by the dustbins team of US Postal during the Turn of France 2000. One found of them also traces in a bag dustbin discovered at the beginning of a stage of Giro 2004. Following this business, this product truly became with the mode in the groups, as Philippe Gaumont in his book “Captive of doping brings it back”. In 2006, one still finds it in the incredible pharmacy of Doctor Fuentes, discovered within the framework of the Puerto operation.
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IOC bans Actovegin, drug at center of Armstrong debate
December 12, 2000 Print it
LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The product at the core of doping allegations against Lance Armstrong's team in the Tour de France was banned Tuesday by the International Olympic Committee.
Armstrong, meanwhile, said he might not defend his championship in next year's Tour if charges of drug use continue.
The IOC medical commission said Actovegin, containing extracts of calf's blood, was banned as blood doping.
"I think we need to be very precise that the position of the medical commission is that this is a banned substance," panel chairman Prince Alexandre de Merode said. "There may have been a bit of hesitation a few months ago. This hesitation no longer exists today."
Actovegin has been at the center of controversy since October, when French judicial authorities opened a preliminary investigation into whether the U.S. Postal Service team used banned substances during the 2000 Tour. Armstrong, who came back from cancer, won the Tour for the second straight year.
Armstrong and the team have repeatedly denied using banned drugs.
"Here's the bottom line to everyone: I'll start by saying that we are completely innocent," Armstrong said on his personal website Tuesday. "We run a very clean and professional team that has been singled out due to our success.
"I will say that the substance on people's minds, Activ-o-something (Actovegin) is new to me. Before this ordeal I had never heard of it, nor had my teammates."
Armstrong said the drugs and medical products found near the team were simply tools to treat 25-50 people on the Tour de France over three weeks.
"If something were to go wrong with any of them, he (the team doctor) would be responsible for their well-being. That's why he would have things like adrenaline, cortisone, scissors, stitches, etc.," Armstrong said. "Some may be viewed as 'performance enhancers' but they're not used in that sense.
"And to so incorrectly call something a substitute for doping is clueless and irresponsible. I can assure everyone we do everything in the highest moral standard."
Armstrong also indicated he might skip the 2001 Tour if the charges of drug use persist.
"I will say that if the current situation exists, then I will not ride the Tour in 2001. Period," Armstrong said. "I'm not saying that to 'threaten' or 'warn' anyone as I really don't think the French care either way if I go."
The Paris prosecutor's office launched the investigation into the U.S. Postal team after receiving an anonymous letter saying suspicious behavior had been detected during the Tour. A TV crew noticed two men dumping plastic bags that contained compresses, packaging from foreign products and medicine, including Actovegin.
Actovegin, manufactured in Norway, contains deproteinized extracts of calf's blood. Injected into the body, it improves the circulation of oxygen in the blood in a manner similar to the banned drug EPO, or erythropoetin, which builds endurance by boosting the production of oxygen-rich red blood cells.
"It's advertised as enhancing the flow of oxygen to the brain," IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch said. "And if it brings oxygen to the brain, it can also bring oxygen to the other parts of the body."
De Merode said some Olympic teams brought Actovegin to the Sydney Games this year with the approval of Australian customs, which did not consider the product illegal.
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News for June 5, 2002
The investigation started in November 2000, after France 3 TV aired footage of allegedly suspicious behaviour involving the disposal of garbage originating from a hotel that US Postal had stayed in during the 2000 Tour de France. The footage showed men loading several plastic garbage bags from the hotel into a German registered car, driving to a back road, and dumping it. An examination of the contents revealed that the bags contained swabs, compresses and pill packets, including a substance derived from calves blood called Actovegin.
Actovegin is used to treat people suffering from blood deficiencies, and was at first considered a potential performance enhancer due to its ability to improve oxygen carrying capacity. However, although it was banned by the UCI after the investigation started, its performance enhancing virtues, if any, remain unclear. It is also not illegal in France.
Shortly after the affair started, US Postal team management issued a statement confirming its use by members of the team, although the team claimed that no riders had used it. "Prior to the start of the 2000 Tour, Actovegin was brought into France by our team physician with the full authorization of the Agence Française de Securité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé, the French medical control agency. Actovegin was available to be used to treat severe skin abrasions due to crashes and to aid one of our staff members who has diabetes," read the statement.
The US Postal lawyer, Georges Kiejman confirmed to Le Monde that "Actovegin was on the list of medicines that US Postal had given to the French authorities prior to the Tour and these were accepted." However, "this was not the reason that it [the investigation] has lasted this long."
The team's blood and urine samples from the Tour were analysed in the spring of 2001 by the UCI, and nothing suspicious was found. In February 2002, the team was asked to submit their medical files to professor Gilbert Pépin, in charge of the judicial laboratory Toxlab. However, the team refused as there was no specific accusation against them. At that point, it became clear that the investigation would run out of steam.
Prosecutor Franchy said that "We have moved forward on a presumption of doping, but we have not succeeded in identifying a product. We are blocked. We do not have any means of coercion," adding that "In this dossier, Lance Armstrong was not at risk of being investigated."
With the dossier still open, the prosecutor could add to this action should something come up at the Tour de France.
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