Bird flu has made the drug a counterfeiting target
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta have developed a quick and accurate method for detecting counterfeit oseltamivir (Tamiflu). Results for the method were reported at the American Chemical Society (ACS) meeting in New Orleans in April. (Johnson K, Nyadong L, Green M, et al. Consecutive reaction monitoring desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for rapid authentication of potentially counterfeit Tamiflu capsules.)
This method provides a high-throughput alternative to quickly analyze the authenticity of counterfeit drugs. -Kristin Johnson, graduate student, Georgia Institute of Technology
The test, desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS), "is a highly sensitive and quick way to determine the authenticity of this important drug with very little sample preparation," says Kristin Johnson, a graduate student at Georgia Tech who presented the research at the ACS meeting. "This method provides a high-throughput alternative to quickly analyze the authenticity of counterfeit drugs."
Because of the appearance of bird flu in human populations, the demand for antivirals has increased, with reports of individuals and even companies hoarding Tamiflu, the leading antiviral on the market, according to data cited by the ACS. The World Health Organization reports that in 2007, 59 of the 86 confirmed human cases of avian influenza worldwide ended in death. With a price of $6.50 per pill, Tamiflu has become a target for counterfeiters, Johnson says.
"Reports of counterfeit Tamiflu samples which do not contain the active ingredient [oseltamivir] have already appeared," she said in a statement released by the ACS. "This thus leads to an urgent need for a rapid and sensitive authentication and screening tool for Tamiflu capsules."
The researchers obtained supposed Tamiflu samples from Internet pharmacies and tested them using DESI-MS. None were found to contain oseltamivir, according to Johnson and colleagues. Results with DESI-MS are obtained in one minute with minimal sample preparation, according to Facundo M. Fernandez, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of chemistry and biochemistry at Georgia Tech, who led the research. Analysis with high-performance liquid chromatography could take up to an hour, he says.
