New method to detect counterfeit drugs

Counterfeit medicines could now be detected more efficiently thanks to a new chemical analysis method developed by researchers at the University of Montreal. The method identifies and quantifies the various compounds present in pharmaceutical products in the fifth of the time it would take government services to do the same. “Fake drugs are a scourge for public health,” said Philippe Lebel. “According to the World Health Organization, worldwide sales of counterfeit medicines reached $75 billion in 2010. Sildenafil citrate, better known by its trade name, Viagra, and two other erectile dysfunction drugs, Cialis and Levitra, are among the most counterfeited drugs in the world.” The counterfeit drugs cost around $1 per tablet, compared to $15 for the real deal, say the researchers, but buying prescription drugs online exposes the buyer to potentially serious health risks. “These drugs are often manufactured in garages with poor sanitation. They can be dosed less, even devoid of the active ingredients,” said Karen Waldron. “Worse, they can contain different substances that can cause undesirable side effects.” Using highly specialised equipment, Lebel developed an analytical method to detect the 80 substances that are commonly substituted for the active ingredient in the three erectile drugs on the market. Thirty pharmaceutical and natural products were then analysed to test and prove the potential of the method. “Our approach does not only target a medication’s active ingredient,” said Alexandra Furtos. “Rather, using a scanning technique, it also detects non-targeted compounds, some of them new synthetic analogues of the active ingredient. This is the originality of the method.” The results, published in Journal of Chromatography, reveal that the researchers’ analysis matches those conducted by Health Canada using the current method. The new method takes 10 minutes, rather than 50, and identifies compounds not previously detected, even in low concentrations. Health Canada has already incorporated this new method in their counterfeit monitoring process. A rapid, quantitative liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry screening method for 71 active and 11 natural erectile dysfunction ingredients present in potentially adulterated or counterfeit products