Spectrophotometers Identify Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals With Color Measurement
The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2012 estimated that the global market for counterfeit pharmaceuticals generated $431 billion in gross annual revenues1 for purveyors of those fake products. Since then, WHO has stopped estimating the counterfeit industry’s revenues because of the difficulties in tracking fake prescription drugs. WHO is quick to note that the counterfeit […]
Measuring Color and Haze in Liquid Pharmaceuticals Protects Patient Health
The color of liquid medications can have a big impact on how patients perceive, experience, and take medications. | Image Source: Pexels user Pixabay Last winter, in the midst of my worst cold of the season, color-coded mediation led me astray. Dazed, I reached into my medicine cabinet and popped a blue liquid-filled capsule […]
Spectrophotometers Help Control Deodorant and Antiperspirant Stick Color Consistency
For the last thirty-five years, my aunt and uncle have been building a life and love together. By now, their patterns are long established. Settled and in their grooves, they resist any change that might disturb their comfortable routines. The last time I visited was evidence of this; I listened to them argue for a […]
Analysis of Drugs and Excipients in Solid State with Spectrophotometric Technology
When I make a trip to the drugstore, I don’t usually struggle with the choice between name-brand medication and generic drugs—I tend to base my choice on the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)1 listed on the package. But only recently have I come to realize that the excipients listed on a drug’s packaging also play an important role. In fact, as my clients […]
How to Monitor Pharmaceutical Color Standards Using Advanced Spectral Technology
We’re seeing bad weather this year in the Pacific Northwest, with frigid temperatures that seem to have made the cold and flu season worse. As freezing rain coated the roads last week, I found myself scavenging through my medicine cabinet for something to soothe my cough. In my hunt, I stumbled across two identical bottles of cough syrup: […]
Keeping Prescription Pill Colors Consistent for Improved Safety and Identification
I am a member of what people call the “sandwich generation.” I’ve spent the past decade caring for my own family while looking out for the needs of my aging parents. My father is now 92, and his cardiologist and I have gotten to know each other pretty well over the past several years as we refine his medications. I realized […]
Color-Coded Packaging Becomes Part of Pharmacies’ Strategy to Prevent Medication Errors
Because of advances in pharmacology, the medical landscape in the United States has changed. Illnesses that were once considered terminal are now manageable. Symptoms that once that greatly reduced quality of life can now be kept at bay. And conditions that only years ago were considered shameful have now been largely destigmatized thanks in […]