SC IV B. Dates of Implementation
Under the 1964 Convention1 on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia the standards of the European Pharmacopoeia are required to take precedence over the standards of the national pharmacopoeias of the contracting parties, thus ensuring a common standard.
In addition to the United Kingdom the countries party to the Convention are: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, The Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and Ukraine. The European Union is also party to the Convention.
The 9th Edition, published in July 2016, came into force on 1 January 2017 and will be amended by Supplements 9.1 to 9.8. The publication remains in force until 31 December 2020 and the supplements are non-cumulative.
The date of entry into force of each publication is agreed by the members of the Convention. For new texts and monographs the agreed date is the latest date by which all member states must have implemented the standard but for replacement texts and monographs the standard enters into force on the same day in all states party to the Convention.
The dates of entry into force of the monographs in the 9th Edition and Supplements are given in the Table below.
Publication | Implementation Date |
9th Edition | 1 January 2017 |
Supplement 9.1 | 1 April 2017 |
Supplement 9.2 | 1 July 2017 |
Supplement 9.3 | 1 January 2018 |
Supplement 9.4 | 1 April 2018 |
Supplement 9.5 | 1 July 2018 |
Supplement 9.6 | 1 January 2019 |
Supplement 9.7 | 1 April 2019 |
Supplement 9.8 | 1 July 2019 |
To provide the user of the British Pharmacopoeia with a comprehensive reference to pharmacopoeial standards applicable in the United Kingdom, monographs of the European Pharmacopoeia, as amended by the Supplements, are included in the British Pharmacopoeia or the British Pharmacopoeia (Veterinary), as appropriate (see the General Notice on the European Pharmacopoeia).
Where the title of the monograph entry included in the British Pharmacopoeia is different from the English title of the European Pharmacopoeia monograph, an approved synonym has been created by the British Pharmacopoeia Commission (see Appendix XXI B).