An outline of Marilyn Monroe’s iconic face appeared on the clear, plastic film when a researcher fogs it with her breath.
Terry Shyu, a doctoral student in chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, was demonstrating a new high-tech label for fighting drug counterfeiting. While the researchers don’t envision movie stars on medicine bottles, but they used Monroe’s image to prove their concept.
Counterfeit drugs, which at best contain wrong doses and at worst are toxic, are thought to kill more than 700,000 people per year. While less than 1 percent of the U.S. pharmaceuticals market is believed to be counterfeit, it is a huge problem in the developing world where as much as a third of the available medicine is fake.
To fight back against these and other forms of counterfeiting, researchers at U-M and in South Korea have developed a way to make labels that change when you breathe on them, revealing a hidden image.
“One challenge in fighting counterfeiting is the need to stay ahead of the counterfeiters,” said Nicholas Kotov, the Joseph B. and Florence V. Cejka Professor of Chemical Engineering who led the Michigan effort.
The method requires access to sophisticated equipment that can create very tiny features, roughly 500 times smaller than the width of a human hair. But once the template is made, labels can be printed in large rolls at a cost of roughly one dollar per square inch. That’s cheap enough for companies to use in protecting the reputation of their products—and potentially the safety of their consumers.
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The Latest on: Counterfeit medications
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The Latest on: Counterfeit medications
- DEA: Beware of fake drugs onlineon July 30, 2024 at 12:04 am
Two milligrams of fentanyl — the equivalent of about 11 grains of salt — can kill a person, Brian McNeal, spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Detroit Division, told Alpena News ...
- 2 arrested for passing counterfeit billson July 29, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Two men were arrested for passing counterfeit bills in the city. Police on Wednesday were dispatched to the 1000 block of South Main Street for a report of a suspicious incident. A male was seen ...
- Federal grand jury indicts man for allegedly selling fake cancer drugs in Houstonon July 29, 2024 at 2:34 pm
Sanjay Kumar, 43, of India, is accused of conspiring to sell counterfeit versions of prescription cancer drugs such as Adcetris, Opdivo and Keytruda. He was arrested last month in Houston.
- Man accused of selling counterfeit cancer drugs indicted in Houstonon July 29, 2024 at 7:16 am
A man was officially indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury after being arrested in Houston and charged with selling fake cancer drugs, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Sanjay Kumar, ...
- Man from India arrested in Texas for allegedly selling fake cancer treatment drugs to people in the USon July 28, 2024 at 9:09 pm
An Indian national is accused of selling and shipping counterfeit cancer drugs worth tens of thousands of dollars to people in the U.S., the Justice Department said.
- Man indicted for selling fake cancer treatment drugs arrested in Houstonon July 27, 2024 at 2:42 pm
HOUSTON - According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Sanjay Kumar was indicted by a federal grand jury for selling and shipping counterfeit cancer drugs worth tens of thousands of dollars into the ...
- Bihar Man Arrested In TX For Selling Counterfeit Cancer Drugs In USon July 26, 2024 at 6:32 pm
The indictment names Sanjay Kumar, 43, from Bihar, as the primary suspect. According to court documents, Kumar and his co-conspirators allegedly organized the sale and distribution of fake cancer ...
- Indian national charged with selling counterfeit drugs in USon July 26, 2024 at 3:16 am
He is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit drugs and four counts of trafficking in counterfeit drugs. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each ...
- DEA warns public of counterfeit drugs killing thousandson July 23, 2024 at 10:36 pm
Potentially lethal and counterfeit prescription drugs lined with fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics being sold in the United States, including Northern Michigan, are a growing concern for law ...
- Cambridge man arrested, accused of ‘large-scale’ counterfeit pill manufacturingon July 22, 2024 at 10:29 pm
Schuyler Oppenheimer was arrested by the FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force during an ongoing investigation into counterfeit pills.
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