Chemists develop method for spotting counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

Pharmaceutical fraudsters have had an easy ride for years — counterfeit drugs are notoriously difficult to detect through all the layers of packaging. But a new tweak to an old stalwart of analytical chemistry could change all that.

Fake drugs are a major international concern (see ‘Murder by medicine’), though estimates vary widely as to how bad the problem is. The US Food and Drug Administration suggests that 10% of all drugs are fake; other, unofficial estimates range up to 50%. The problem is worst in developing countries. But Internet sales are helping to push up the figures in the developed world too.

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