Researchers Discover New Way to Detect Counterfeit Viagra

Detecting counterfeit drugs is increasingly important as drug counterfeiting spreads to life-saving drugs like those used to treat cancer. Researchers are developing sophisticated ways to tell real from fake drugs, and it could help keep counterfeit drugs for erectile dysfunction (ED) out of circulation. 

 

Why do drug counterfeiters make so much fake Viagra? Because that’s where the money is.

Not only is Viagra, the blockbuster drug from Pfizer that treats erectile dysfunction, a phenomenally popular drug, it treats a health issue that many men are still reluctant to bring up with their physicians. Add to it the fact that Viagra is fairly expensive, and that “Viagra” offered through offshore websites is often very inexpensive, and you have the perfect mix of conditions for counterfeiting to flourish.

United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) try to stem the flow of counterfeit drugs into the US, and these agencies’ counterparts in other countries do the same. But the volume of product is so great that inevitably counterfeits still get through, and they can cause serious problems beyond lightening people’s wallets.

Ingredients in Fakes May Be Inactive or Dangerous

Counterfeit drugs that actually contain the active ingredient in their real counterparts often have levels of the ingredient that are inadequate. Some of them contain other ingredients altogether, and some fakes don’t contain active ingredients at all. Yet the products look so similar to the real thing that sometimes even experts who work at drug manufacturers like Pfizer can’t tell the difference without chemical testing.

Worse still, some drug counterfeiters use ingredients that can cause major health problems, and even deaths. In 2008, for example, 149 Singaporean men had to be hospitalized after taking counterfeit Viagra that contained an anti-diabetic drug called Glyburide. The drug causes blood glucose levels to drop, resulting in a dangerous condition called hypoglycemia. Four of the men who took the fake drug died afterward.

Current Techniques for Detecting Counterfeit Drugs

Current methods for detecting counterfeit drugs of all kinds range from low-tech to advanced. In the country of Ghana, for example, counterfeit anti-malarial drugs are a major problem. There, people can scratch off a panel on the back of a packet of anti-malarial drugs and text the numerical code to a designated phone number. The consumer is then messaged back as to whether the drug is real or fake before he or she hands over money. Pharmacists in Ghana are legally obligated to replace fake drugs.

In the US, the FDA developed a handheld device called Counterfeit Detection Device No. 3 (CD3) in 2012. This scanner projects 10 wavelengths of light across individual products and boxes containing them. Counterfeit products appear a different color than genuine products. While this scanner doesn’t say precisely what’s in the product, it does flag products that are different from the genuine article.

 

New Technology from the University of Montreal

Scientists Philippe Lebel, Alexandra Furtos, and Karen Waldron of the University of Montreal’s Department of Chemistry recently unveiled a detector that identifies and quantifies the compounds present in pharmaceutical products, and does so much more quickly than the current generation of detectors. The device uses principles of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), which combines the physical separation of compounds using liquid chromatography with mass analysis capabilities of mass spectrometry.

Lebel and his colleagues developed an analytical method to detect 80 substances that are often substituted for the active ingredients in the drugs Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra. The new analysis method was tested against pharmaceutical products as well as products seized at the Canadian border and was found to target both the product’s active ingredient and non-targeted compounds, including new synthetic analogs of the active ingredient. Accuracy matched that of existing technologies, but only takes one-fifth as much time. Moreover, it identifies compounds that were not identified in products using earlier technologies.

Why Speed of Detection Is Increasingly Critical

The fact that the University of Montreal’s new testing technique is faster than older techniques is critical, because of the huge numbers of fake drugs that cross international borders every day. With faster testing, more products can be tested, and more counterfeits can be seized before they can harm (or at least disappoint) consumers who purchased them. Health Canada has already incorporated the University of Montreal’s new detection technology into its counterfeit monitoring procedures, and experts believe it could become a model to other countries in the fight against counterfeit drugs.

Protecting Yourself from Counterfeit Drugs

Protecting yourself from counterfeit Viagra (or any other counterfeit drug) means only purchasing products from providers with safeguards and protections in place to ensure that what you receive is the genuine product. For example, if you order Viagra online, the product should contain a lot number that you can confirm with Pfizer. Once a lot number has been distributed to patients, Pfizer permanently retires it. Old lot numbers continue to be used on knockoffs, however.

Buying from overseas websites, or websites that claim not to need a prescription to dispense Viagra is extremely risky. Some of these sites may pretend to be Canadian, but in fact are located in countries known for mass counterfeiting of drugs like Viagra. Buy from one of these sources and at best you’ll lose some money. At worst, you could be harmed by ingesting a dangerous substance.

Conclusion

The FDA and Customs can’t stop all counterfeit drugs from entering the United States, though technology for detecting knockoffs continues to improve. To be safe when ordering prescription medications like Viagra online, choose a source with a street address (not just a P.O. Box) in the United States, and that offers information on how to verify that your products are the real article. Never order products from overseas websites or websites that don’t require a prescription. Likewise, you should never order so-called “natural” Viagra or products claiming to be herbal treatments for erectile dysfunction. Many of these products have been found to be dangerous as well.

At eDrugstore.com, we have provided genuine Viagra made by Pfizer, as well as other medications, to over half a million customers for more than 15 years. eDrugstore.com works with US-licensed pharmacists and ships using trusted couriers like FedEx. Furthermore, we are HIPAA-compliant, committed to customer privacy, and use only the strongest forms of online ordering security.