Forensic techniques track fake drugs

Forensic analysis of counterfeit medicine samples has enabled Interpol to track down the point of origin in China for the manufacturer of about  240,000 blister packs of imitation artesunate, an antimalarial  treatment. The joint Interpol and World Health Organization effort,  Operation Jupiter, led to 24,000 packs of the produced quantity being  seized on the Yunnan, China-Myanmar border.

Mass spectrometry of tablets found traces of certain minerals and  pollen, which allowed investigators to identify the exact region of  China where the drugs were manufactured. Facundo Fernandez, an  analytical chemist and assistant professor at Georgia Tech, USA, has  pioneered new and faster techniques for analyzing suspect  pharmaceutical samples (Marketletters passim). He told CNN that the  technology is available to put a device in every pharmacy to check for  counterfeit products.

A related project late last year involving Interpol and the WHO's  International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT)  in Kenya and Tanzania, Operation Mamba, led to the seizure of 100  different types of fake drugs. Interpol reported that, in Tanzania, the  secured products included antimalarial, cardiac, antifungal,  multivitamin, hormone and skin medicines. 44 police cases were opened  and several pharmacies and drug stores were closed down. In Uganda, 38  drug retail outlets have been put under investigation for operating  without the necessary licenses and controls.