The British Pharmacopoeia Commission sets official standards for pharmaceutical and medical products. It publishes the annual British Pharmacopoeia – a collection of quality standards for medical products, which guides pharmaceutical researchers, developers and manufacturers in making their products safe. It also assigns British Approved Names to pharmaceutical substances. This standardises labelling of medical products and helps people understand what they have been prescribed and to take the right treatment for them. It was established by the Human Medicines Act 1968. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) (see above) provides its secretariat and gives it access to further information, resources and expertise. It acts as the UK’s National Pharmacopoeia Authority to the European Pharmacopoeia.
