James Grech

Biography

James' research project investigates the Characterisation of Poor-quality Antimalarials (COPA). The aim of the COPA project is to create a protocol to accurately categorise poor-quality medicines. Poor-quality medicines include three main categories falsified/counterfeit (criminally produced and fraudulent), substandard (legitimately manufacture but outside quality standards), and degraded (produce of high-quality but degraded due to poor transport or storage). The protocol includes combining previously published identifiers for counterfeit antimalarials with newly developed analytical methods to distinguish between substandard and degraded products. The COPA project will assess the currently accepted medicine stability testing and compare them with novel, diurnal stability testing to ascertain discrepancies between the two methods. As medicines in many underdeveloped are not stored in regulated environments, the COPA project believes that the stability testing should replicate this and make sure that medicines are tested real-world conditions would expose them to. In addition, authentic samples from Uganda and Rwanda will be collected and placed through the developed protocol.  The outcomes of the authentic samples include implementing the developed protocol, therefore demonstrating the protocol's efficacy; and if degraded medicines are collected, the degradation markers will be compared with stability testing to determine which method is a more accurate representation of real-world degradation. If the battle against poor-quality medicines is to succeed then we must first identify and characterise any poor-quality medicines out there. Only once we completely understand the issue may we front an effective counter-measure. James' research project investigates the Characterisation of Poor-quality Antimalarials (COPA). The aim of the COPA project is to create a protocol to accurately categorise poor-quality medicines. Poor-quality medicines include three main categories falsified/counterfeit (criminally produced and fraudulent), substandard (legitimately manufacture but outside quality standards), and degraded (produce of high-quality but degraded due to poor transport or storage). The protocol includes combining previously published identifiers for counterfeit antimalarials with newly developed analytical methods to distinguish between substandard and degraded products. The COPA project will assess the currently accepted medicine stability testing and compare them with novel, diurnal stability testing to ascertain discrepancies between the two methods. As medicines in many underdeveloped are not stored in regulated environments, the COPA project believes that the stability testing should replicate this and make sure that medicines are tested real-world conditions would expose them to. In addition, authentic samples from Uganda and Rwanda will be collected and placed through the developed protocol.  The outcomes of the authentic samples include implementing the developed protocol, therefore demonstrating the protocol's efficacy; and if degraded medicines are collected, the degradation markers will be compared with stability testing to determine which method is a more accurate representation of real-world degradation. If the battle against poor-quality medicines is to succeed then we must first identify and characterise any poor-quality medicines out there. Only once we completely understand the issue may we front an effective counter-measure.

Research Interest

Health and wellbeing throughout the lifespan; Healthcare systems and health services research.