Norboletone () (former proposed brand name Genabol), or norbolethone, is a

synthetic Synthetic may refer to: Science * Synthetic biology * Synthetic chemical or compound, produced by the process of chemical synthesis * Synthetic elements, chemical elements that are not naturally found on Earth and therefore have to be created in ...

and orally active

anabolic–androgenic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of drugs that are structurally related to testosterone, the main male sex hormone, and produce effects by binding to the androgen receptor (AR). Anabolism, Anaboli ...

(AAS) which was never marketed. It was first developed in 1966 by

Wyeth Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. was a pharmaceutical company until it was purchased by Pfizer in 2009. The company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1860 as John Wyeth and Brother. Its headquarters moved to Collegeville, Pennsylvania, a ...

Laboratories and was investigated for use as an agent to encourage weight gain and for the treatment of short stature, but was never marketed commercially because of fears that it might be toxic. It subsequently showed up in urine tests on athletes in competition in the early 2000s. Norboletone was found to have been brought to the market by the chemist

Patrick Arnold Patrick Arnold (born 1966) is an American organic chemist known for introducing androstenedione, 1-androstenediol, and methylhexanamine into the dietary supplement market, and for creating the designer steroid tetrahydrogestrinone, also know ...

, of the

Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) was an American company that operated from 1983 to 2003 led by founder and owner Victor Conte. In 2003, journalists Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada investigated the company's role in a drug s ...

(BALCO), an American nutritional supplement company. It is reputed to have been the active ingredient in the original formulation of the "undetectable" steroid formulation known as "The Clear" before being replaced by the more potent drug

tetrahydrogestrinone Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), known by the nickname The Clear, is a synthetic and orally active anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) which was never marketed for medical use. It was developed by Patrick Arnold and was used by a number of high-profi ...

. In 2002,

Don Catlin Donald Hardt Catlin (June 4, 1938 – January 16, 2024) was an American anti- doping scientist. He is one of the founders modern drug-testing in professional sports. Early life and education Catlin was born in New Haven, Connecticut on June 4, ...

, the founder and then-director of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Lab, identified norboletone for the first time in an athlete's urine sample. In the same year, U.S. bicycle racer Tammy Thomas was caught using it and was banned from her sport. The following year, Catlin identified and developed a test for

(THG), the second reported designer anabolic sample—a key development in the BALCO Affair. Norboletone is on the

World Anti-Doping Agency The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...

's list of prohibited substances, and is therefore banned from use in most major sports.

References

{{Androgen receptor modulators Abandoned drugs Anabolic–androgenic steroids Estranes Designer drugs Hepatotoxins