Medscape has part 1 of an interview with [censored] Pound here:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/544378?src=mp
(free registration require)
I apologize if this was posted before; I did a quick scan and didn't
see it.
A brief quote:
"Anybody with a Masters degree in biochemistry and access to basic
laboratory facilities, maybe. But remember, being able to alter a
molecule doesn't mean it'll be safe - and the original molecules
aren't safer either in sports doping. Even minor tweaks could
potentially lead to unexpected and serious side effects and medical
problems. You can't just make a drug and let people use it untested.
It's all being done just to give a different signature in a test. The
real danger, of course, is you don't know what that altered molecule
and a particular dosage might do to the bodies of the athletes taking
it. There have been some horrendous stories.
Consider the case of sprinter Kelly White, who was given THG in 2003,
caught, and banned by the US Anti-Doping Agency. She was having a
period every 2 weeks, blood pressure that was going through the roof,
muscle cramps, and other problems. The people who produced it and gave
it to her had no idea what the effects would be. A biochemist or
pharmacologist will tell you that once you alter a drug molecule, it
can change the intended physiologic interactions with receptors and
systems in your body. It may have effects that are different from the
original drug. You don't know what's going to happen, and athletes
taking these compounds are just being made of one big dangerous and
uncontrolled experiment."
(OK, not so brief, but it's a long interview.)