. please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . statements consisting only of original research should be removed . september 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article does not cite any sources . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . may 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message british pharmacopoeia headquarters london united kingdom website www.pharmacopoeia.co.uk www.pharmacopoeia.gov.uk the british pharmacopoeia bp is the national pharmacopoeia of the united kingdom . it is an annual published collection of quality standards for uk medicinal substances . it is used by individuals and organizations involved in pharmaceutical research development manufacture and testing . pharmacopoeial standards are publicly available and legally enforceable standards of quality for medicinal products and their constituents . the british pharmacopoeia is an important statutory component in the control of medicines which complements and assists the licensing and inspection processes of the medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency mhra of the united kingdom . along with the british national formulary bnf it defines the uk s pharmaceutical standards . pharmacopoeial standards are compliance requirements ; that is they provide the means for an independent judgment as to the overall quality of an article and apply throughout the shelf life of a product . inclusion of a substance in a pharmacopoeia does not indicate that it is either safe or effective for the treatment of any disease . contents 1 legal basis 2 history 3 content 4 production 5 guidance 6 availability 7 british approved names 8 related publications 9 see also 10 external links legal basis edit the british pharmacopoeia is published for the health ministers of the united kingdom on the recommendation of the commission on human medicines in accordance with section 99 6 of the medicines act 1968 and notified in draft to the european commission in accordance with directive 98 34 eec . the monographs of the european pharmacopoeia as amended by supplements published by the council of europe are reproduced either in the british pharmacopoeia or in the associated edition of the british pharmacopoeia veterinary . in the pharmacopoeia certain drugs and preparations are included regardless of the existence of actual or potential patent rights . where substances are protected by letters patent their inclusion in the pharmacopoeia neither conveys nor implies license to manufacture . history edit the regulation of medicinal products by officials in the united kingdom dates back to the reign of king henry viii 1491 1547 . the royal college of physicians of london had the power to inspect apothecaries products in the london area and to destroy defective stock . the first list of approved drugs with information on how they should be prepared was the london pharmacopoeia published in 1618 . the first edition of the british pharmacopoeia was published in 1864 and was one of the first attempts to harmonize pharmaceutical standards through the merger of the london edinburgh and dublin pharmacopoeias . the new latin name that had some currency at the time was pharmacopoeia britannica ph. br . . a commission was first appointed by the general medical council gmc when the body was made statutorily responsible under the medical act 1858 for producing a british pharmacopoeia on a national basis . in 1907 the british pharmacopoeia was supplemented by the british pharmaceutical codex which gave information on drugs and other pharmaceutical substances not included in the bp and provided standards for these . the 1968 medicines act established the legal status of the british pharmacopoeia commission and of the bp as the uk standard for medicinal products under section 4 of the act . the british pharmacopoeia commission continues the work of the earlier commissions appointed by the gmc and is responsible for preparing new editions of the british pharmacopoeia and the british pharmacopoeia veterinary and for keeping them up to date . under section 100 of the medicines act the british pharmacopoeia commission is also responsible for selecting and devising british approved names bans see below . since its first publication back in 1864 the distribution of the british pharmacopoeia has grown throughout the world . it is now used in over 100 countries . australia and canada are two of the countries that have adopted the bp as their national standard alongside the uk and in other countries e.g. korea it is recognized as an internationally acceptable standard . content edit the current edition of the british pharmacopoeia comprises six volumes which contain nearly 3 000 monographs for drug substances excipients and formulated preparation together with supporting general notices appendices test methods reagents etc. and reference spectra used in the practice of medicine all comprehensively indexed and cross referenced for easy reference . items used exclusively in veterinary medicine in the uk are included in the bp veterinary . volumes i and ii medicinal substances volume iii formulated preparations blood related preparations immunological products radiopharmaceutical preparations surgical materials homeopathic preparations volume iv appendices infrared reference spectra index volume v british pharmacopoeia veterinary volume vi cd rom version british pharmacopoeia british pharmacopoeia veterinary british approved names the bp is available as a printed volume and electronically in both on line and cd rom versions the electronic products use sophisticated search techniques to locate information quickly . for example pharmacists referring to a monograph can immediately link to other related substances and appendices referenced in the content by using 130 000 hypertext links within the text . production edit the bp is prepared by the pharmacopoeial secretariat working in collaboration with the bp laboratory the british pharmacopoeia commission bpc and its expert advisory groups eag and advisory panels . the development of pharmacopoeial standards receives input from relevant industries hospitals academia professional bodies and governmental sources both within and outside the uk . the bp laboratory provides analytical and technical support to the british pharmacopoeia . its major functions are development of new pharmacopoeial monographs the laboratory undertakes the development and validation of qualitative and quantitative test methods for new bp monograph specifications and refines and revalidates test methods for existing bp monographs . british pharmacopoeia chemical reference substances bpcrs the laboratory is responsible for the procurement establishment maintenance and sale of bpcrs . the catalog currently contains nearly 500 bpcrs which are needed as standards for monograph tests in both the bp and the bp veterinary . a new website for the british pharmacopoeia commission opened in 2008 . guidance edit detailed information and guidance on various aspects of current pharmacopoeial policy and practice is provided in supplementary chapters of the bp . this includes explanation of the basis of pharmacopoeial specifications and information on the development of monographs including guidance to manufacturers . availability edit the current edition of the british pharmacopoeia is available from the stationery office bookshop . british approved names edit main article british approved name british approved names bans are devised or selected by the british pharmacopoeia commission bpc and published by the health ministers on the recommendation of the commission on human medicines to provide a list of names of substances or articles referred to in section 100 of the medicines act 1968 . bans are short distinctive names for substances where the systematic chemical or other scientific names are too complex for convenient general use . as a consequence of directive 2001 83 ec as amended the bans since 2002 may be assumed to be the recommended international non proprietary name rinn except where otherwise stated . an inn identifies a pharmaceutical substance or active pharmaceutical ingredient by a unique name that is globally recognized and in which no party can claim any proprietary rights . a non proprietary name is also known as a generic name . related publications edit there are equivalents in many other countries such as the united states usp 1 and japan 2 and the world health organization maintains the international pharmacopoeia 3 . the british national formulary 4 contains information on prescribing indications side effects and costs of all medication drugs available on the national health service . see also edit british approved name british pharmaceutical codex pharmacopoeia the international pharmacopoeia external links edit british pharmacopoeia commission publisher of the british pharmacopoeia clarification needed v t e pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry in the united kingdom manufacturing in the united kingdom economy of the united kingdom companies current aah pharmaceuticals alliance boots astex astrazeneca medimmune btg cyclacel dechra pharmaceuticals ge healthcare genus glaxosmithkline hikma pharmaceuticals indivior macfarlan smith norbrook group oxford biomedica pfizer uk phytopharm proximagen shire silence therapeutics tbs gb unipath vectura group vernalis viiv healthcare defunct allen & hanburys amersham beecham group cambridge antibody technology celltech chiroscience distillers company fisons glaxo wellcome ici reliant pharmaceuticals renovo zeneca government and regulatory bodies commission on human medicines department of health european directorate for the quality of medicines european medicines agency medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency national collaborating centre for mental health national patient safety agency pharmaceutical price regulation scheme pharmaceutical society of northern ireland general pharmaceutical council scottish medicines consortium veterinary medicines directorate industry and professional bodies association of the british pharmaceutical industry chemical industries association european federation of biotechnology european federation of pharmaceutical industries and associations faculty of pharmaceutical medicine pharmacists defence association royal pharmaceutical society of great britain worshipful society of apothecaries books and journals bandolier bad pharma british national formulary british national formulary for children monthly index of medical specialities the pharmaceutical journal other british approved name british pharmacopoeia drugscope european and developing countries clinical trials partnership european pharmacopoeia list of world s largest pharmaceutical companies pharmaceutical services negotiating committee wellcome trust category retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title british pharmacopoeia & oldid 741174267 categories pharmacopoeiaspharmacy in the united kingdomhidden categories articles that may contain original research from september 2016all articles that may contain original researcharticles lacking sources from september 2016all articles lacking sourcesarticles needing additional references from may 2012all articles needing additional referenceswikipedia articles needing clarification from july 2009 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured 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