The British Pharmacopoeia and coronavirus (COVID-19)

During the COVID-19 outbreak the BP is committed to keeping our users updated and supporting the wider healthcare response. We will be making regular updates to this page.

Products and services

All our products and services are currently available, including the BP publications and the BPCRS. Whilst our staff based in central London are now working remotely, our laboratories remain open.

Shipment of BPCRS products are currently not significantly impacted. We are prioritising work to ensure that our website and processing orders of the BPCRS can continue uninterrupted.

Free access to supportive pharmacopoeial texts 

The BP and the European Pharmacopoeia have worked together to make supportive pharmacopoeial texts (monographs, general chapters, appendices and supplementary chapters) available for a limited period of time at no cost to users. This is to support those developing, manufacturing or testing these substances and products during this challenging period. These texts will be kept under review and updated and withdrawn as required. 

  • The BP supportive pharmacopoeial texts includes content drawn from the BP 2020, incorporating European Pharmacopoeia texts. Please register to download the BP supportive pharmacopoeial texts. If you have already registered, click here to download the BP supportive pharmacopoeial texts.
  • Find out how to use the BP.
  • The European Pharmacopoeia supportive  pharmacopoeial texts includes content drawn from the 10th Edition, including supplement 10.1. Access the European Pharmacopoeia supportive pharmacopoeial texts

International Collaboration

The BP works with pharmacopoeias globally through the World Health Organisation's (WHO) International Meeting of World Pharmacopoeias (IMWP). Following the initiation of a global pharmacopoeial alert, pharmacopoeias have worked together to support the public health response. This has included identifying existing pharmacopoeial monographs for medicinal substances and products under investigation for the treatment of COVID-19. The WHO update and list of standards can be found on the IMWP website.

The IMWP have produced non-mandatory monographs for Favipiravir and Favipiravir Tablets as a resource to aid independent users in their assurance of medicine quality.

IMWP Monographs on Favipiravir and on Favipiravir tablets

Meetings and advisory groups

All our meetings, including the British Pharmacopoeia Commission, Expert Advisory Groups, Expert Panels and Working Parties are now being held remotely. If you are involved in our work, you will be contacted by the BP Secretariat directly with further instructions.

Important changes to ordering BPCRS

Customers who are ordering any BPCRS which are classified as controlled drugs or precursor chemicals need to:

  • Scan your import permit and email it, along with your website order reference, to bpcrs@mhra.gov.uk
  • Send the original to the below address

Operations Manager

The MHRA Laboratories

Health Science and Innovation

LGC

Queens Road

Teddington

Middlesex

TW11 0LY

UK


This will help us to minimise delays in processing your order.

We want to make sure that existing BPCRS customers with an active account on pharmacopoeia.com can order the products they need. As such, we have put the following changes in place to ensure the quick, reliable and fair supply of the chemical reference standards listed in the tables below.

  • A limit of 5 or less vials per customer, per order for the products listed below.
  • The time allowed between maximum (repeated) orders is 30 days (e.g. 5 or 2 vials in a 30-day period).
  • Distributors will be asked to demonstrate that orders exceeding the maximum amount are on behalf of individual customers.
  • The list below is subject to change.

We appreciate your continued cooperation during this period and should you need to contact us further about these changes please email bpcrs@mhra.gov.uk.  

The chemical reference substances listed below have been restricted to 5 vials per customer to ensure supply of these standards. The list below is subject to change.

Catalogue Number Name               Update
198 HYOSCINE BUTYLBROMIDE 27/01/2021
698 PROPOFOL DIMER 08/02/2021
1110 GLYCOPYRRONIUM BROMIDE 17/02/2021

 

The chemical reference substances listed below have been restricted to 2 vials per customer to ensure supply of this standard. The list below is subject to change.

Catalogue Number                      Name Update
226 METARAMINOL TARTRATE 14/05/2021
333 TOBRAMYCIN 11/02/2021
781 ERTHROMYCIN 29/07/2021
833 CLARITHROMYCIN 15/07/2021

 

The chemical reference substances listed below have been restricted to 1 vial per customer to ensure supply of this standard. The list below is subject to change.

Catalogue Number                 Name       Update
376

6-CHLORO-4-(2-CHLOROPHENYL)

-QUINAZOLINE-2-CARBOXALDEHYDE

 08/02/2021
576 HYDROCORTISONE 17/12/2020
717 PSEUDOMORPHINE TRIHYDRATE 17/03/2021
730 N-DESALKYLFLURAZEPAM 17/12/2020
1031 PROPOFOL 07/05/2021

The chemical reference substances listed below have been removed from the list and no longer on the restricted list.

  Catalogue Number                 Name       Update
  21 AMPICILLIN TRIHYDRATE 23/12/2020
  41 BETAMETHASONE SODIUM PHOSPHATE 30/07/2020
  61 CEFALEXIN 02/09/2020
  89 CLOXACILLIN SODIUM 13/01/2021
  90 CODEINE PHOSPHATE 08/01/2021
  431 DIHYDROCODEINE TARTRATE 03/09/2021
  479 BUPIVACAINE HYDROCHLORIDE 14/12/2020
  532 AMIODARONE HYDROCHLORIDE 02/09/2020
  575 BETAMETHASONE 13/01/2021
  578 DEXAMETHASONE 11/02/2021
  665 FENTANYL CITRATE 21/05/2021
  806 ONDANSETRON IMPURITY STANDARD 08/10/2020
  1032 PROPOFOL IMPURITY J 29/10/2020
  1058 BISOPROLOL FUMARATE 24/06/2020


Supporting the response to COVID-19

The British Pharmacopoeia, as part of the MHRA, is working closely with DHSC and other healthcare partners on COVID-19. As we develop our role in the response, we will provide updates to our users.

Contact

If you have any queries related to our work and COVID-19 please contact us by email: bpcom@mhra.gov.uk.

Guidance from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on COVID-19: