[e-drug] Faster Test Detects Fake Tamiflu Drugs

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E-DRUG: Faster Test Detects Fake Tamiflu Drugs 
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[Copied as fair use. Thanks to Carinne Bruneton for spotting this. HH]

Faster Test Detects Fake Tamiflu Drugs
By HealthDay - Mon Apr 7, 8:46 PM PDT
 
MONDAY, April 7 (HealthDay News) -- A fast method to detect fake Tamiflu,
the mainstay medication for preventing and treating bird flu, has been
developed to stop counterfeiters trying to make money off the demand for
antivirals that fight the deadly disease. 

Chemists in Georgia are scheduled to describe how Desorption Electrospray
Ionization Mass Spectrometry (DESI-MS) can determine the authenticity of
large batches of Tamiflu up to 20 times faster than conventional methods
during a presentation Monday at the American Chemical Society meeting in New
Orleans. 

"It's a one-step process that doesn't require any extensive sample
preparation," presenter Dr. Facundo M. Fernandez, of the Georgia Institute
of Technology in Atlanta, said in a prepared statement. 

DESI-MS yields sample results in less than one minute. The "gold standard"
for analysis uses high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a powerful
method that can take up to an hour, he said. 

"This method is really targeted at screening large amounts of products" that
might be expected during a pandemic of influenza, Fernandez added. "In case
of a crisis, you wouldn't be able to wait an hour per sample. You'd want to
screen hundreds of samples per day," he said.

When fears of a global epidemic of avian influenza first emerged in 2005,
worried consumers in the United States and other countries began to horde
Tamiflu, seeking prescriptions from physicians and purchasing the medication
from online pharmacies. 

In 2007, 86 confirmed human cases of bird flu occurred in the world,
according to the World Health Organization, with 59 cases resulting in
death. 

Tamiflu's demand and high cost -- $6.50 a pill -- have made it a preferred
target for fakes, Fernandez noted, and counterfeits have already surfaced in
Chicago, San Francisco and other areas. 

"The penalties for counterfeiting pharmaceuticals are much lower than for
trafficking illegal drugs like cocaine," Fernandez said. "Many of the
operations focused on making illegal drugs are shifting to counterfeiting
drugs because of the low penalties and high profits." 

Fernandez tested DESI-MS's effectiveness by collecting different Tamiflu
samples from online pharmacies and found all of them to contain the active
ingredient. However, he warned that customers who purchase online should use
extra caution. 

Although some online pharmacies are certified, Fernandez said people usually
look for low prices instead. "What you get online can be pretty much
anything," he said. "It's very easy for the counterfeiter to bypass the
system that's in place to protect the consumer. And it's very easy for the
consumer to get medications."