Annual Banned-Substance Review 18th Edition-Analytical Approaches in Human Sports Drug Testing 2024/2025

Alongside the considerable advances and accomplishments in drug research and development, the breadth of anti-doping research topics has also continued to grow. This is particularly relevant not only to provide comprehensive information on new drug entities, drug metabolism and elimination, and/or the impact of administration and exposure routes on analytical test results but also to ensure the timely implementation of analytical methods that ensure the availability of relevant anti-doping testing procedures and corresponding analytical data for routine doping control applications. The 18th edition of the annual banned-substance review on analytical approaches in human sports drug testing is dedicated to literature published between October 2024 and September 2025, and information published within these 12 months on established doping agents as well as new (potentially and evidently) relevant substances is reviewed and discussed, especially in the context of the World Anti-Doping Agency's 2025 Prohibited List. Topics of particular interest have been investigations into the metabolic fate and detection of anabolic agents, both anabolic-androgenic steroids and other anabolic substances such as selective androgen receptor modulators and protein-based therapeutics negatively regulating the activin receptor signaling pathway, and detection strategies for numerous new drug candidates have been discussed and presented. Further, the trend toward expanding testing options with regard to gene doping practices including oligonucleotide-based compounds (e.g., small interfering RNA, antisense oligonucleotides, etc.), transgenes, and gene editing practices continued also in 2024/2025, underlining the relevance for current and future sports drug testing programs.