Publications
There are two pharmacopoeias that have legal status within the UK - the 'British Pharmacopoeia' (BP) and the 'European Pharmacopoeia' (Ph. Eur.).
The British Pharmacopoeia Commission (BPC) is responsible for the publication of the British Pharmacopoeia and British Approved Names.
The British Pharmacopoeia is published annually in August, and comes into effect on the 1st of January of the following year.
The British Approved Names (BAN) book is published every four years with annual supplements.
For more information on both the BP and BAN publications please use the navigation menu on the left.
The legal basis for the European Pharmacopoeia is the Council of Europe Convention on the elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia, an international treaty signed initially by 8 member states. Currently 37 countries have acceded to the Convention as individual states and the European Community has also acceded as a supranational body. Other countries (European and non-European) are observers.
The Ph. Eur. comprises monographs, which set out the mandatory standards for active substances, excipients and formulated preparations, together with supporting General Notices, method texts, and reagent specifications. Unless otherwise indicated, the monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia apply equally to materials for use in either human or veterinary medicine.
The UK participates at all stages of Ph. Eur. monograph development and revision via UK membership of the Groups of Experts and Working Parties. As a national pharmacopoeial authority the BP provide expert comments on Pharmeuropa texts. There is also a UK delegation to the European Pharmacopoeia Commission co-ordinated by the BPC Secretariat.