Counterfeit Drugs
Word Count: 495 – Read Time: 2.4 minutes
In 1996, the most recent year for which figures have been compiled, losses to U.S. businesses from counterfeiting were estimated at $200 billion, compared with only about $5.5 billion in 1982.
Counterfeiting remains a huge problem in many industries such as those of collectibles and memorabilia. However in the medical field the affects of counterfeit products can be devastating as well as life threatening.
Counterfeit prescription drugs looks like the real thing but is made with cheaper and sometimes hazardous ingredients. Now, there’s mounting evidence that counterfeit drugs have permeated the United States. Counterfeit drugs have long been common in parts of the world. One study found a third of malaria pills sampled in parts of Asia contained no trace of real medication. There’s limited data on how often counterfeits sells in the USA, where pharmaceutical regulation is the world’s strictest. Since 1996, the FDA has investigated 71 counterfeit drug cases, resulting in 43 arrests. Just recently 130,000 bottles containing fake Lipitor, the top-selling cholesterol medicine, were pulled from the marketplace. Many ideas have been approached on how to protect the public from counterfeit medicine, however one idea is a little more unusual then the rest; DNA signatures.
This technology combines DNA gene segments – the genetic material that defines humans and every living organism – and an invisible DNA-laced ink that may then be applied as either a visible or hidden security marker on any solid surface.
The marker is virtually impossible to decode, since the human genome is comprised of roughly three billion base pairs of DNA strands. Its components can be shifted and recombined in a variety of ways to meet your specific companies tracking requirements. Plus the DNA-laced ink is highly resistant to reverse engineering and can be used in conjunction with existing labels as a smart tag.
So this all sounds great, but has it been put to the test? Yes, at the Sydney Olympics, DNA inks were applied to nearly 50 million items at a cost of about five cents each. Prior to each year’s Super Bowl game, the invisible DNA-laced ink is applied to each football. As each ball leaves the field, the DNA scanner verifies its authenticity. Although many times invisible to the naked eye, the DNA mark becomes fluorescent green when illuminated with the special scanner. Now, even bottles of premium wine are being given genetic “fingerprints” in an attempt to foil counterfeiters.
But can sophisticated counterfeiters break the code? A counterfeiter would need to know what living organism was used for coding and figure out which length that organism was used when the DNA was extracted. The counterfeiter would then need to reverse-engineer the inks and guess where the inks were placed on the container the medicine was placed in. This would be a costly undertaking and years to break the actual decoding.
Information Resources:
Purity Medical Products
CBS News
Food & Drug Administration
The Seattle Times
International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition
