Press release: British Pharmacopoeia launches new website

Press release

Date:	09 Sep 2008
Time:	09:00
Subject:	Launch of BP website
Contact:	Press Office 020 7084 3651 or press.office@mhra.gsi.gov.uk Out-of-hours 07770 446 189

British Pharmacopoeia (BP) website launch

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has today launched the new British Pharmacopoeia (BP) website www.pharmacopoeia.gov.uk  (external link). This is a single authoritative source for information on the BP. The new web site offers a cost-effective subscription service allowing access to new and revised monographs, monographs omitted from previous editions of the BP and typical chromatograms published in the hard copy BP.

It is anticipated the new site will make a significant contribution to improving communication with stakeholders in line with the Government's initiative for better regulation, providing transparency in the monograph development and standard setting process as well as offering advice and guidance to users of the BP. Electronic forms for submitting monograph revision requests and initiation proposals are included on the site, along with corrections for the latest edition of the BP.

Notes to Editor

1. British Pharmacopoeia

The British Pharmacopoeia (BP), which is now published annually, is the only comprehensive collection of standards for UK medicinal substances. It contributes to the overall control of the quality of medicinal products by providing an authoritative statement of the standard that a product is expected to meet at any time during its period of use. The publicly available and legally enforceable pharmacopoeial standards are designed to complement and assist the MHRA licensing processes for medicinal products, and are part of the system for safeguarding public health. The BP is an essential reference for all individuals and organisations involved in pharmaceutical research, development, and manufacture and testing of medicines. Including monographs for surgical dressings last published in the 1993 edition of the BP.

The original website (www.bplab.co.uk ) was developed in 1999 to allow users of the BP to order chemical reference standards on-line. With the acquisition of the 'pharmacopoeia.gov.uk' domain name in 2007 the British Pharmacopoeia Secretariat undertook a major overhaul of the site to provide users and the public with more information on BP Commission activities and monograph development, as well as retaining online ordering for reference standards.

2. British Pharmacopoeia Commission

The 1968 Medicines Act established the legal status of the British Pharmacopoeia Commission and of the BP as the UK standard for medicinal products. The British Pharmacopoeia Commission 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).

3. MHRA

The MHRA is the government agency responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work, and are acceptably safe. No product is risk-free. Underpinning all our work lie robust and fact-based judgements to ensure that the benefits to patients and the public justify the risks. We keep watch over medicines and devices, and take any necessary action to protect the public promptly if there is a problem. We encourage everyone –the public and healthcare professionals as well as the industry – to tell us about any problems with a medicine or medical device, so that we can investigate and take any necessary action. www.mhra.gov.uk