'The recent Amgen Tour of California has highlighted the title sponsor’s role in relation to one of the most prominent drugs in the endurance sports world - erythropoietin. Amgen scientists first developed genetically engineered erythropoietin in 1983. They called the compound "EPOietin alfa." In 1989, the drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating anaemia in people undergoing dialysis for chronic kidney failure. Technically, erythropoietin is a naturally occurring glycoprotein hormone that is mainly produced by the kidney. It regulates the production of red blood cells. EPOietin alfa is a synthetic version of this hormone that when injected, boosts red blood cell production...' More