New Test Detects Fake Erectile Dysfunction Drugs in 10 Minutes

May 22, 2014

Researchers at the University of Montreal have developed a faster and more efficient chemical analysis method for detecting counterfeit erectile dysfunction drugs.

The new method identifies and quantifies the various compounds present in a pharmaceutical product in approximately 10 minutes - a fifth of the time it previously took governmental services. This new approach combines technical advances in chromatography, a technique for separating compounds, as well as mass spectrometry, which sorts chemical substances based on their mass.

Sildenafil citrate drugs -- better known as Pfizer's Viagra, along with Eli Lilly's Cialis and Bayer's Levitra -- are among the most counterfeited drugs in the world due to the embarrassment that comes with asking doctors for prescriptions.

The results of the study, which were recently published in the Journal of Chromatography, reveal that the University of Montreal analyses match those previously conducted by Health Canada using the older method. Health Canada has reportedly already incorporated it in its counterfeit monitoring process.

Read the Medical News Today story