How to intercept counterfeit pharmaceuticals and drugs in real time

The objective of the CONPHIRMER project is to develop a portable and easy-to-use pharmaceutical authentication device, a sensor for telling genuine medicines from fakes. Customs officers and other law enforcement agents can use the device without having to remove the medicines from their packaging.

This device is based on quadrupole resonance (QR) technology, a harmless radiofrequency spectroscopic technique that can detect signals through multiple layers of cardboard, glass, plastic and/or wood.

Target medicines include hypoglycaemic, antimalarial, anticholesterol, anticancer and antiviral, etc. Most brands are subject to counterfeiting. Counterfeit and fake medicines are a major danger for public health with the potential for drug resistance, from the risk of poisoning with toxic ingredients, and from channeling of profits into criminal networks.

Consortium:

• King’s College London, UK Project leader, QR fingerprint measurement and analysis
• French German Research Institute, Saint-Louis, France, QR fingerprint measurement, database management
• Slovenian national institute for mathematical sciences, Slovenia, QR fingerprint measurement and analysis
• Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Slovenia, QR fingerprint measurement and analysis
• Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Lund University, Sweden, Signal Processing
• Rapiscan Systems Ltd, UK, Antenna design, system integration
• Polish Customs Service, Poland, End user
contact: jamie.barras@kcl.ac.uk