False vaccine detection tech breakthrough

A University of East London scientist has helped research aimed at producing a handheld device to detect fake vaccines. It will be the first such device of its kind produced anywhere in the world.

Dr Hamid Merchant, Head of Department for Bioscience, offered expert insights into various vaccine formulations in order to help scientists determine how a spectrum of genuine vaccines can be identified from the fakes.

The research was published on 20 October in the journal, Vaccine. It was carried out by a consortium of world-leading experts, led by the University of Oxford, along with scientists from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), part of UK Research and Innovation, and the World Health Organisation.

Even before the pandemic there were numerous instances of vaccine supply chains being infiltrated by falsified products, but the study in Vaccine notes that the global shortage of COVID-19 vaccines provided “fertile ground” for the production of fake treatments.

The researchers’ work employed an existing tool, the handheld Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS) device, therefore can rapidly deployed in the field. SORS scanners are already widely used at airports for security checks. This new research shows that they can be used to scan vaccine vials, to determine whether a vaccine is genuine or not, without opening the vials.

Dr Merchant said,

Infiltration of falsified medicines into genuine medical supply chain is a growing concern and is a risk to the public health across the word. This non-invasive screening tool can provide a means of rapid surveillance to authenticate medicines at various check points within the supply chain. I am excited to be the part of this team, led by Oxford scientists, committed to improve medication safety by providing novel solutions to protect the medicines supply chain from falsified and sub-standard products.”

Apart from endangering the public, by not effectively protecting people from COVID-19, incidences of false vaccines in supply chains also risk undermining public trust in vaccines.

Dr Merchant added that although they all do the same job at the end, different vaccine products use innovative proprietary formulation techniques which train our immune system in different ways to prepare us to fight back promptly on exposure to real pathogens.

The SORS technology works by shining special light across a vial, reaching molecular fingerprints to check the presence of different ingredients, which is then automatically matched to a library of standards to determine product authenticity with instant turnaround.

SORS was originally invented and developed into a spinout company by the STFC Central Laser Facility. This company was acquired in 2017 by Agilent Technologies, where the technique continues to be developed for various applications.

This consortium of world leading experts convened in 2020 to develop this technology for vaccine authentication, consisting of representatives from:

• Oxford University, Nuffield Department of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Department of Chemistry
• Science and Technology Facilities Council, part of UK Research and Innovation
• World Health Organization
• Agilent Technologies
• Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery
• Serum Institute of India
• University of East London
• University of Huddersfield

“SORS is poised to become an important tool to protect against falsified vaccines,” said Professor John Collier, Director of the STFC Central Laser Facility. “Since first being developed at the STFC Central Laser Facility, this innovative technology continues to find new areas of application which could now include empowering governments and healthcare organisations to safeguard public health. It is a prime example of the enormous benefits of responding to global health challenges with strategic technological innovation.”

Although this study focuses only on COVID-19 vaccines, the method it describes may also be used for authenticating other vaccines, and liquid medicines. Further research is needed with more vaccines and to evaluate its effectiveness at various points in supply chains.

With the increasing importance of vaccines for many diseases with pandemic potential and their inequitable distribution, innovative tools to empower inspectors in detecting falsification such as these are a vital asset.

The full study can be read in the latest edition of the journal Vaccine.

Study sciences at UEL.