British Pharmacopoeia Commission

The British Pharmacopoeia Commission was established in 1970 under Section 4 of the Medicines Act 1968. Members of the Commission (approximately 20) are appointed by the Minister of Health and are responsible for preparing new editions of the British Pharmacopoeia (BP) and the British Pharmacopoeia (Veterinary). The Commission also provides members for the UK delegation to meetings of the European Pharmacopoeia committees in Strasbourg and is responsible, under Section 100 of the Medicines Act, for selecting and advising on British Approved Names (BANs). 

The BP Commission can also call on expertise available in the British Pharmacopoeia laboratories situated in the premises of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist in West London. The BP laboratory carries out and validates assay procedures for the Commission and in addition, is responsible for the procurement, establishment, maintenance and sale of British Pharmacopoeia Chemical Reference Substances (BPCRS). These reference substances, as their name suggests, are authentic samples of a drug or decomposition product which are used as standards in a drug assay. The BP laboratory also fulfils an important forensic role in the control of counterfeit medicines. With the advent of the internet, the public can easily gain access to supplies of prescription-only medicines online. These medicines are often adulterated, contaminated or simply counterfeit, and comparison with authentic samples is necessary to ensure that the correct preparation is supplied. 

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British Pharmacopoeia, British Pharmacopoeia Commission, London, 1988. 

Benzisothiazole derivatives, 18 (1981) 117 Benzodiazepines, 20 (1983) 157 Beta-adrenergic blockers, 22 (1985) 121 British Pharmacopoeia Commission, 6 (1969) 1... 

The need to develop compendial standards for dissolution for capsules and tablets containing poorly soluble drug products was noted by the BP in 1973. By 1980, the British Pharmacopoeia Commission had identified a list of drug products included in the 1973 BP for which the development of a dissolution standard was necessary. The list included products... 

Formerly Head of Clinical Pharmacology at Wellcome Research Laboratories, then Medical Director Rhone-Poulenc and Visiting Professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He was later a Director of Imperial Cancer Research Technology Ltd, Visiting Professor of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of Vienna, Austria, the University of Cape Town, South Africa and a member of the British Pharmacopoeia Commission. 

The relevant advisory committees with a remit for medicines for human use established under the Medicines Act 1968 were the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM), set up in June 1970 (SI 1970/1257) under the Chairmanship of Professor EF Scowen and the British Pharmacopoeia Commission (BPC), also set up in June 1970 (SI 1970/1256) under the Chairmanship of Dr F Hartley (later Sir Frank Hartley). The Veterinary Products Committee (VPC), chaired by Professor CSG Grunsell (with a remit for... 

A new Herbal Medicines Advisory Committee (HMAC) and The British Pharmacopoeia Commission (BPC). 

Advising on the establishment and membership of committees established under section 4 of the Medicines Act 1968. For example, the British Pharmacopoeia Commission (BPC) and Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) would be retained. 

Coward was professionally active, being a member of the Vitamin Committee of the British Pharmacopoeia Commission from 1933 to 1953 and a member of the Committee of the Biochemical Society from 1932 until 1936 and in 1937, she was elected as an honorary member of the Pharmaceutical Society. Her advice was sought by committees of the League of Nations and the World Health Organisation. She retired in 1950, but continued to be active, as her obituarist, G. S. Cox, recalled ... 

British Pharmacopoeia Collection. A collection of 394 spectra together with detailed methods of sample preparation Infra-red Reference Spectra, British Pharmacopoeia Commission, London, HMSO, 1980 First Supplement 1981 Second Supplement 1982 Third Supplement 1984. 

Advisory Committees have been established to perform certain duties under the Medicines Act. These currently comprise the Medicines Commission the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and its sub-committees dealing with chemistry, pharmacy and stcmdards, with pharmacovigilance, and with biologicals the British Pharmacopoeia Commission and the Advisory Board on the Registration of... 

Committee membership is voluntary and without remuneration. A declaration of interests is made annually by all members excepting the British Pharmacopoeia Commission (whose work does not necessitate such declaration). The declarations are published in the Annual Reports of the Medicines Act 1968 Advisory Bodies, listing consultancies and research interests. 

The MCA issues an annual report and accounts highlighting the activities of the Agency, including the statutory accounts for the year. Separately, annual reports of the Medicines Act 1968 Advisory Bodies are published by the independent expert advisory committees, for example, the Medicines Commission, the Committee on Safety of Medicines, the Advisory Board on the Registration of Homoeopathic Products, and the British Pharmacopoeia Commission, reporting on their activities. 

British Pharmacopoeia Commission (2002) British Pharmacopoeia. The Stationery Office, London. 

Donald Cairns is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. In 2006 he was appointed to the British Pharmacopoeia Commission and serves on an Expert Advisory Group of the Commission on Human Medicines. 

Professor O Grady is Examiner to the Royal College of Physicians, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine. He is a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and a member ofthe British Pharmacopoeia Commission. 

BAN (British Approved Names) (The Secretary, British Pharmacopoeia Commission, Market Towers, 1 Nine Ehns Lane, London SW8 5NQ, UK). 

British Approved Names 1986 , British Pharmacopoeia Commission London, Her Majesty s Stationary Office. 

The Licensing Authority is advised by expert committees, appointed by ministers, as advised by the Medicines Commission under Section 4 of the Medicines Act. These advisory committees consist of independent experts, such as hospital clinicians, general practitioners, pharmacists and clinical pharmacologists, not the staff of the DoH, and are appointed by ministers on the advice of the Medicines Commission. The relevant advisory committees since 1971 have been the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM), the Committee on Review of Medicines (CRM), the Committee on Dental and Surgical Materials (CDSM), the British Pharmacopoeia Commission (BPC) and the Veterinary Products Committee, which is administered through the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries (MAFF). 

THE BRITISH PHARMACOPOEIA COMMISSION—G. R. Kitteringham PHARMACOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE CORONARY CIRCULATION—J, R. Parratt... 

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