Authentic Drugs Tagged with Plant DNA Could Help Snare Fake Meds

January 12, 2016

(Scientific American) – In the U.S. it’s uncommon to encounter counterfeit pharmaceuticals, drugs that are manufactured illegally and passed off as the genuine articles. But in countries with weaker regulatory systems such as India and Nigeria these drugs make up 25 to 70 percent of the pharmaceuticals available to consumers. In 2010 counterfeit drugs made up a $75-billion industry, one that only seems to be growing. Because the majority of these drugs—intended to treat patients—contain too much or too little of the active ingredient, anywhere from 100,000 to one million people die every year worldwide.