Bloodhorse, the magazine that fired Jeremy Balan as reward for all the work he did uncovering the death rate crisis at SA, has finally awakened to the bisphosphonate issue:
First Saturday....
https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-rac...ontrols-coming
Now today:
https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-rac...isphosphonates
The Paulick Report has an excellent synopsis of the current situation.
https://www.paulickreport.com/news/r...oing-about-it/
There are some key points, The drug maker admits that Osphos is available to any non-vet who wants it. They seem to take a hard line on this, saying how awful this is, but they sound to me like the makers of oxycondin who cry about how abuse of their drug is so awful, while pocketing huge profits. Dechra, maker of Osphos, is a public British corporation. In their last yearly report, the CEO stated that "equine products have performed well, and sales of OsphosŪ have continued to grow as its clinical merits are more widely appreciated" I was unable to find the exact value of Osphos sales, but given its specific mention, safe to say it is significant revenue.
Then there is this: "The company has already funded several studies seeking a better test for the drugs. Currently, they can be detected 28 days out in blood, but researchers are working to find them in post-mortem bone samples – so far, those haven't yielded many answers".
I have already discussed the pharmacology of the bisphosphonates, but rechecked my research. Here is what seems to be a definitive discussion of the drug from Britain:
http://www.hpra.ie/img/uploaded/swed...2019154725.pdf
There is a lot of scientific stuff here, but some key points. The active ingredient, clodronic acid is not biodegradable, which means there are no metabolites, thus, unlike many other drugs, a drug test can only look for the drug itself. The reports states the drug achieves maximum levels in blood within 39 minutes, rapidly adheres to bone. The stated half life in urine is 1-2 hours, while in plasma 5.6 hours (half life means the length of time to reduce amount by 50%). With such a rapid half life, how is it possible to state that the drug is detectable within 28 days?????. This drug has been available in the US since 2014, and as the article notes could be imported for several years before. The drug is a potent pain reliever. Is it realistic to say that it has never, ever been tried on a racehorse? (remember the drug has been described by a vet as making "a lame horse sound in one day") I again emphasize that I have been unable to find one instance of a drug positive ever in US racing. I would love an explanation of this 28 day statement, especially since, sales companies are now easing buyers' worries by offering blood test.
I also continue to be mystified about the difficulties in finding this non-biodegradable drug in bones, when I already linked to a research paper that even described a method they used.
One final point. In Britain, the authorities have declared that any horse of any age that is found with any trace of bisphosphonates will be barred from racing forever. Is it any wonder that everyone at every level of US racing is so fearful? Maybe I am scientifically wrong (though I keep trying to find how) but it does not surprise me that the panicked reaction just does not make sense.
