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Photo by Pavel Danilyuk, Pexel.com
The Vaccine Identity Evaluation (VIE) project, led by MQRG Co-Director Professor Paul Newton, is developing novel tests to detect falsified vaccines in the supply chain, working with researchers at the University of Oxford, the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and their collaborators.
Professor Newton said: “There is a great need for accessible and inexpensive techniques for screening for falsified vaccines and liquid medicines-this novel approach of repurposing existing widely available hospital analysers holds promise for detecting these before they reach patients so that timely and appropriate action can be taken.”
Study co-leader, Dr Bevin Gangadharan of the Department of Biochemistry and Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, said: “By repurposing a clinical chemistry analyser to detect and measure different salts and protein in liquid medical products, we were able to successfully differentiate genuine and falsified samples. This novel approach can be used globally due to the worldwide availability of biochemical analysers in hospitals and other clinical settings, including in low- and middle-income countries, where many cases of falsified medicines have been reported.”