New Appointments To The British Pharmacopoeia Commission

The British Pharmacopoeia (BP) Commission and the Appointments Commission are pleased to announce the appointment and re-appointment of members to the BP Commission.

The BP Commission is responsible for preparing new editions of the BP and the BP (Veterinary) and for keeping them up to date. It also provides advice to the United Kingdom delegation to the European Pharmacopoeia Commission and devises British Approved Names.

Two new appointments were made with effect from 1 January 2010 for a period of four years. The new members are:

Dr Graham Cook is a pharmacist and senior director in the Global Quality and Compliance division of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

Dr Brian Matthews is a pharmacist and currently a member of the BP Commission's Expert Advisory Group on Pharmacy, the Panel of Experts on Microbiology and the Working Party on Excipients. He previously held the position of senior director, EC registration at Alcon Laboratories.

Professor David Woolfson has been re-appointed for a further four year term as Chairman with effect from 1 January 2010.

The following members have also been re-appointed from 1 January 2010, for periods of two or four years:

Professor G Buckton
Professor D Cairns
Mr B Capon
Professor A G Davidson
Dr T D Duffy
Mr C T Goddard
Dr R L Horder
Dr L Tsang
Mrs J Turnbull
Professor E Williamson

These appointments are not remunerated; however a fee of £275 per meeting is paid to cover preparation and attendance, together with any travel and subsistence costs. All members are required to comply with the BP Commission's Code of Practice relating to interests in the pharmaceutical industry.

All appointments are made on merit. Political activity plays no part in the selection process. In accordance with the original Nolan Recommendations there is a requirement for appointees' political activity (if declared) to be made public.

The appointments have been made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments' Code of Practice.

About 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. For more information, visit: www.mhra.gov.uk.

SOURCE: British Pharmacopoeia Commission