Detection Methods of Counterfeit Drugs: A Systemic Review

Abstract

Counterfeit medicines are one of the major challenges facing pharmaceutical supply chains and patient safety and are a serious problem in countries around the world. These drugs represent a major threat to the patient’s life, to the real drug manufacturers, and to the country’s image. The problem of substandard/ counterfeit/counterfeit/counterfeit medical products is more serious in countries with weak health regulatory systems and fragile health infrastructure. These characteristics increase the risk of manufacturing and/or distributing medicinal products that do not comply with national and regional health regulations, putting patients at risk. High and variable prices, insufficient access to affordable medications, and drug shortages are incentives for actions, activities, and behaviors that lead to SSFFC medical products. These problems must be addressed from a public health perspective. In this paper, the authors will provide a direct and simple comparison between the five most popular detection techniques used to analyze and characterize various genuine and generic pharmaceutical brands, as an approach to analyzing counterfeit pharmaceutical products, as many genuine and generic products are classified as counterfeit and vice versa. The combination of analytical results provides a comprehensive characterization of counterfeit medical products. This information is essential for patient safety and to assist authorities in their mission to combat counterfeit products. The findings could help police, regulatory, and health bodies reduce the burden of combating counterfeit medicines and the consequences that occur if they are not detected and used.