British Pharmacopeia (BP) is a collection of authoritative and publicly available quality standards for medicines, supported by guidance and additional value-adding information. First published in 1864, the BP has an illustrious history built on quality and continual response to the needs of stakeholders and users.The BP Secretariat is an integral part of the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), strategically located within the Inspection, Enforcement and Standards Division since 2003.
The BP provides the only comprehensive collection of authoritative official standards for UK pharmaceutical substances and medicinal products, including all the monographs and texts of the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.).It is published annually in August and becomes legally effective on January 1st of the following year.The BP is a vital reference tool for all individuals and organisations involved in pharmaceutical research, development, manufacture, and quality control and analysis.
The British Pharmacopoeia contains general notices, general monographs, specific monographs providing mandatory standards for active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients, formulated preparations, herbal drugs, materials for use in the manufacture of homoeopathic preparations, blood-related products, immunological products, and radiopharmaceutical preparations. It also includes infrared reference spectra, appendices, supplementary chapters, and a comprehensive index.
The BP plays a significant role in the standard-setting process in Europe, provides expert advice to the World Health Organization, and has strong links with leading world pharmacopoeias, ensuring the quality of medicines is always at the forefront of international discussion.It is used in over 100 countries and forms an inherent part of established medicines legislation in Commonwealth countries.