PHARMACEUTICALS

Counterfeit drug testing prevents health issues and improves the economy

Read our November 2020 press release

Counterfeit drugs are a global issue. Some may contain the active ingredient but at the incorrect dosage, while other versions may not contain the advertised drug at all. In both cases, recipients of the counterfeit drug may be harmed by receiving either too little of a drug or a placebo. In some instances, the drug may even be contaminated with a dangerous ingredient. The impact of this activity, which is global but particularly prevalent in Asia, may prove fatal for patients.

In addition, counterfeit drugs cause enormous economic damage, with the European Union Intellectual Property Office issued a report last year stating that EU industry loses €16.5bn in sales to counterfeit drugs.

Successful early trials

We are working with Oxford University which is validating our test results, and have demonstrated successful early trials of a rapid and accurate test for two drugs: Quinine Sulphate, which is used to prevent and treat malaria, and Amoxicillin, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections.

Our trials are supported by the Health Systems Research Institute in Thailand (“HSRI”) which is also independently validating test data

Our thermal product sensor is compact and robust

Our thermal product sensor is both compact and robust, consisting of a platinum thin film or pulse gauge. Sensors are coupled to signal processing electronics and feed analysis to a laptop instantly showing the anomalies in counterfeit drugs. To prove the analysis works, a variety of real and fake drugs have been tested with access to samples controlled by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

We plan to expand our portfolio of testable drugs rapidly to include a wide variety of therapeutics used to treat a multitude of conditions and will be able to provide testing support for vaccine authenticity.

Counterfeit drugs are a huge international problem. Covid-19 has created an urgency to create widespread testing facilities as the world faces shortages in key drugs and vaccines. This breakthrough could not have happened at a more important time as our test could be used for a wide variety of drugs, including vaccines.

If you are in the Pharmaceutical industry and would like to discuss your sensing challenges, let’s talk.