The British Pharmacopoeia Commission
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 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 harmonise pharmaceutical standards between different countries, through the merger of the London, Edinburgh and Dublin Pharmacopoeias.
The 1968 Medicines Act established the legal status of the British Pharmacopoeia Commission and of the British Pharmacopoeia 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 General Medical Council (GMC). A Commission was first appointed by the GMC when the body was made statutorily responsible under the Medical Act 1858 for producing a British Pharmacopoeia on a national basis.
UK Pharmacopoeial activity is carried out within the Inspection, Enforcement and Standards Division of MHRA (www.mhra.gov.uk) by the British Pharmacopoeia Commission Secretariat and the British Pharmacopoeia Laboratory.