New method developed to detect fake vaccines in supply chains

Research published and led by University of Oxford researchers describes a first-of-its-kind method capable of distinguishing authentic and falsified vaccines by applying Machine Learning to mass spectral data. The method proved effective in differentiating between a range of authentic and ‘faked’ vaccines previously found to have entered supply chains. 

This latest research will bring the world community one step closer to being able to tell apart falsified, ineffective vaccines from the real thing, making us all safer. It has been a tremendous collaborative effort, with everyone having this same important goal in mind. 

The results of the study provide a proof-of-concept method that could be scaled to address the urgent need for more effective global vaccine supply chain screening. A key benefit is that it uses clinical mass spectrometers already distributed globally for medical diagnostics. 

In this new study, researchers developed and validated a method that is able to distinguish authentic and falsified vaccines using instruments developed for identifying bacteria in hospital microbiology laboratories. The method is based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), a technique used to identify the components of a sample by giving the constituent molecules a charge and then separating them. The MALDI-MS analysis is then combined with open-source machine learning. This provides a reliable multi-component model which can differentiate authentic and falsified vaccines, and is not reliant on a single marker or chemical constituent. 

Professor James McCullagh, study co-leader and Professor of Biological Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, said: “We are thrilled to see the method’s effectiveness and its potential for deployment into real-world vaccine authenticity screening. This is an important milestone for the Vaccine Identity Evaluation (VIE) consortium which focusses on the development and evaluation of innovative devices for detecting falsified and substandard vaccines, supported by multiple research partners including the World Health Organization (WHO), medicine regulatory authorities and vaccine manufacturers.”