Printed Test Cards for Rapid Field Screening of Medications

Marya Lieberman of the University of Notre Dame in the U.S. will produce an inexpensive paper card that can easily and quickly measure the quality of over 50 common drugs used to treat both humans and animals. Current estimates indicate that 10-30% of human drugs used in the developing world are not what they are labelled. However, buyers do not have the means to easily evaluate them. They will develop a small paper card that reveals a color pattern upon contact with a specific drug, such as an antibiotic, representing that drug's chemical composition. Results can be interpreted by eye or by sending a photo of the card via mobile phone for automated computer analysis. They will evaluate the card specificity and sensitivity, and field test it on 2,000 drugs collected from retail outlets in Kenya to compare efficacy with established methods.