Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery researchers contribute to approach using hospital analysers to identify falsified vaccines
Researchers at the Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery (Kavli Oxford) are part of an international collaboration demonstrating that widely available hospital analysers can be repurposed to help identify falsified vaccines and other liquid medicines, offering a potentially accessible screening tool for global health systems.
Falsified and substandard medicines remain a significant challenge worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that around 10.5% of medicines in low- and middle-income countries are either substandard or falsified, posing risks to patients through ineffective treatment or harmful ingredients.
The study, published in Scientific Reports (February 2026), shows that routine clinical chemistry analysers, already widely used in hospitals, can differentiate genuine from falsified liquid medical products by analysing their biochemical composition.
The work forms part of the Vaccine Identify Evaluation (VIE) Collaboration, a cross-institutional effort involving researchers from across the University of Oxford, including the Department of Biochemistry and Kavli Oxford, as well as partners in healthcare, academia, and industry.
Rather than replacing laboratory assays, the approach is designed as a first-line screening method, helping to flag suspect samples for further confirmatory testing in specialised facilities. This could support more efficient monitoring of pharmaceutical supply chains, particularly in settings where access to advanced analytical techniques is limited.
Dr Bevin Gangadharan (Department of Biochemistry and Kavli Oxford), co-lead author of the study, said:
By repurposing a clinical chemistry analyser to detect and measure different salts and protein in liquid medical products, we were able to successfully differentiate genuine and falsified samples. This novel approach can be used globally due to the worldwide availability of biochemical analysers in hospitals and other clinical settings, including in low- and middle-income countries, where many cases of falsified medicines have been reported.
The method takes advantage of existing laboratory infrastructure, enabling flexible use of routine analytical techniques depending on the testing context. As Professor Tim James (Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), co-lead of the study, noted, such systems allow users to select from 'simple, highly reproducible, routine methods' suited to different screening scenarios
The findings highlight the value of repurposing established technologies to address urgent global challenges in medicine quality. By building on tools already present in many healthcare settings, the approach may help expand access to practical screening methods without requiring significant new infrastructure.
