Molecular Tagging of Pharmaceutical Drugs Utilizing Applied DNA’s Technology Published in Peer-Reviewed Journal

Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: APDN), announced today that its scientific paper entitled, ‘Rapid authentication of pharmaceuticals via DNA tagging and field detection’, has been published in the June 2019 edition of PLOS ONE, detailing a novel Physical-Chemical Identifier (PCID) to authenticate and track legitimate pharmaceutical products through the pharmaceutical supply chain.

The paper summarizes a study in which a pharmaceutical manufacturer tagged acetaminophen capsules with pharmaceutical-grade ink containing a unique DNA tag produced by Applied DNA and its subsequent authentication. Study results indicate that authentication can be performed reliably in a laboratory or in the field utilizing easy to use portable devices, and proves that Applied DNA’s SigNature Molecular Tag can be safely introduced onto the surface of a capsule in ordinary pharmaceutical ink. The patent-pending, user-friendly method and system showed the molecular tag can be read at any time after simple, non-destructive swabbing.

“We believe DNA tagging of inks, coatings, and other ingredients can be used in the pharmaceutical supply chain, securing authenticity of an individual dose from the manufacturer, to the distributor, and finally the pharmacy. Authentication is possible, even when the product is separated from packaging, making it a solid complement to serialization and a platform to be considered as a weapon against today’s most difficult challenges, such as the opioid crisis,” said Dr. James Hayward, president and CEO, Applied DNA.

Drug overdose deaths in the United States are at unprecedented levels, with synthetic opioids increasingly implicated in overdoses, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1-in-10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified.

“Counterfeit drugs represent a large and growing problem for the global pharmaceutical industry, and can lead to serious illness or death. Publication of our methods and systems for molecular tagging of pharmaceuticals is a seminal development in our industrial deployment, and acceptance of our methods by scientific peers is a welcome endorsement,” said Dr. Michael Hogan, vice president, Life Sciences, Applied DNA.

About PLOS ONE

The world’s first multidisciplinary Open Access journal, PLOS ONE accepts scientifically rigorous research, regardless of novelty. PLOS ONE’s broad scope provides a platform to publish primary research including interdisciplinary and replication studies as well as negative results. The journal’s publication criteria are based on high ethical standards and the rigor of the methodology and conclusions reported.