Systems and methods perform signature extraction from an acquired spectrum of a pharmaceutical. An acquired spectrum of the pharmaceutical is measured using a spectrometer. The acquired spectrum is obtained from the spectrometer using a processor. A system-response function of the spectrometer is removed from the acquired spectrum using the processor. An intensity of the acquired spectrum is normalized to a predetermined scale using the processor. Fluorescence is removed from the acquired spectrum using the processor. Finally, an extracted signature of the pharmaceutical is obtained from the remainder of the acquired spectrum using the processor. If the acquired spectrum of the pharmaceutical is measured by the spectrometer through a container holding the pharmaceutical, a spectrum of the container is removed from the remainder of the acquired spectrum to produce the extracted signature of the pharmaceutical using the processor.