Abstract

Many commonly used drugs are available as both proprietary and non-proprietary preparations, but both must comply with the standards of the British Pharmacopoeia (BP) or British Pharmacopoeia Codex (BPC) for that preparation. Within most classes of drugs, newer drugs are often more expensive and may possess only minor advantages over well-tried older compounds that are available as official (BP or BPC) formulations. In many of our articles reviewing new drugs, we conclude by advising the prescriber to stick to the older medicines for which cheaper presentations may be available, especially under their official names.