We work with the Food and Drug Department and Food and Drug Quality Control Centre, in collaboration with Dr Michael Green, CDC-USA, on the quality of the drug supply in Laos and particularly the severe problem of counterfeit artesunate. The first randomised country-wide survey of the prevalence of substandard and counterfeit drugs has recently been conducted, supported by the British Embassy, Bangkok, and we hope that this will give the first objective estimate of the prevalence of poor-quality drugs in a country.

We also act as a coordinating centre for samples of suspected counterfeit artesunate. We analyse the packaging and send samples for chemical analysis by our chemist collaborators Professor Facundo Fernandez, of Georgia Tech and Dr Green. We produce a warning sheet which describes the different types of counterfeit artesunate found. See Fake Artesunate Warning Sheet . This has been translated into Lao and Burmese languages.

We helped coordinate a large collaboration of INTERPOL, scientists, doctors, Chinese police and WHO to trace the origin of the epidemic of fake artesunate. When the chemical and botanical (pollen) evidence suggested that the fakes were coming from southern China, the Chinese Government launched their own criminal investigation and arrested some of those responsible