Assignment on pharmacy information resources

Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University
Santosh, Tangail-1902
Department of Pharmacy
Assignment
on
Pharmacy Information Resources
Course Code: PHAR 1101
Course Tittle: Introduction to Pharmacy
Submitted To
Netish Kumar Kundo
Assistant Professor
Submitted By
Md. Shakil Sarker
Student ID: PHA-20008
1st
Year, 1st
Semester
Session: 2019-2020
Date of Submission: September 1, 2020

Pharmacy Information Resources
Pharmacy information resources: The medical and pharmaceutical journals, review journals,
periodicals, bulletins and books containing specific and particular information and theory about
drug molecules are termed 'pharmacy information resources'.
Classification of Pharmacy Resources
There are a lot of sources from where we can get the information of all types of drugs.
1. Primary source of drug information
2. Secondary source
3. Special information
4. Pharmaceutical database
5. WHO Bulletin and journals
6. Drug directory
7. Physicians' desk reference
8. Text books of Pharmacy and pharmacology
9. Handouts of the pharmaceutical manufacturers
1.Primary source of drug information
Medical and pharmaceutical journals
Name of some journals are given below:
● The Dhaka University journal of pharmaceutical sciences
● Bangladesh pharmaceutical journal
● Pharma world
● Pharmasee
● Asian journal of pharmaceutical research
Free source pharmaceutical journal
● American journal of pharmaceutical education
● Biological and pharmaceutical bulletin
● International journal of drug development and research
2.Secondary source
Reviewed journals and articles: Name of some review journals are given below.
● American pharmaceutical review
● Pharmacological reviews
● European pharmaceutical review
3.Special information
Official books such as pharmacopeias and national formularies (BP, USP,IP,NF) etc.

4. Pharmaceutical database
● Medline
● cdrom
Medline: A guide to effective searching- by Brian S. Katcher.Medline is a bibliographic
database of life sciences and biomedical information. It includes bibliographic information for
articles from academic journals covering medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary
medicine, and health care.
5.Physicians' Desk Reference
A thick volume that provides a guide to prescription drugs available in the United States.
Although not exactly recommended fare for bedtime reading, the PDR is the most commonly
used drug reference. The information is the same as the leaflet in the drug package, also known
as the package insert. Drug companies pay to have their drug included, so many generic
medicines will not be in the book.
6.WHO Bulletin and journals
The Bulletin of the World Health Organization is a monthly public health journal published by the
World Health Organization that was established in 1947. Articles are published in English and
abstracts are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
7.Text books of Pharmacy and pharmacology
● Goodman and Gilman's the pharmacological basis of therapeutics-JG Hardman and LE
Limbird(chief editor)
● Pharmacy pharmaceutical sector and healthcare-Md. Shah Amran
● Pharmaceutical regulatory affairs and standards-Md. Shah Amran
Compendia
Pharmacopeias and formularies are collectively known as compendia or drug compendia.
Compendia may be of two types:
1.Official Compendia
Official compendia are the compilations of drugs and related substances which are recognized
as legal standards of purity, quality and strength by a government agency of respective
countries of their origin.
Examples:
● British Pharmacopoeia (BP)
● British Pharmaceutical Codex (BPC)
● United States Pharmacopeia(USP)
● National Formulary (NF)
● European Pharmacopoeia(EP)

2.Non-official Compendia
These are the books which contain the same type of information as that of official compendia
but are not recognised as official book by the government of the respective country of origin .
Examples:
● Merck Index
● Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences
Pharmacopeia
Pharmacopeia is an authoritative book containing a list of medicinal drugs with their sources,
description, uses, preparation, dosages, formulas, tests, storage condition etc. The word
pharmacopoeia is derived from the Greek word 'Pharmakon' means a drug and 'Poieo' means
make. Literally, what is the list of medicinal substances crude drugs and formulas for making
preparations from them. A pharmacopeia, in its modern technical sense, is a book containing
directions for the identification of compound medicines, and published by the authority of a
government or a medical or pharmaceutical society. Descriptions of preparations are called
monographs. In a broader sense it is a reference work for pharmaceutical drug specifications.
British Pharmacopoeia(BP)
The British Pharmacopoeia (BP) is the national pharmacopoeia of the United Kingdom. The first
edition of BP was published in 1864 by the general medical council according to the medical act
1858 of Great Britain. BP is now annually published by the British pharmacopoeial commission
.It is an annually published collection of quality standards for UK medicinal substances. It is
used by individuals and organisations involved in pharmaceutical research, development,
manufacture and testing.Pharmacopoeial standards are publicly available and legally
enforceable standards of quality for medicinal products and their constituents. The British
Pharmacopoeia is an important statutory component in the control of medicines which
complements and assists the licensing and inspection processes of the Medicines and
Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of the United Kingdom. Together with the
British National Formulary (BNF), the British Pharmacopoeia defines the UK's pharmaceutical
standards.
Pharmacopoeial standards are compliance requirements; that is, they provide the means for an
independent judgement as to the overall quality of an article, and apply throughout the shelf-life
of a product. Inclusion of a substance in a pharmacopoeia does not indicate that it is either safe
or effective for the treatment of any disease.
United States Pharmacopeia(USP) - National Formulary(NF)
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is a pharmacopeia (compendium of drug information)
for the United States published annually by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention
(usually also called the USP), a nonprofit organization that owns the trademark and also owns
the copyright on the pharmacopeia itself. It contains standard for medicine, doses form, drug
substances, excipients, medical devices and dietary supplements. Monograms for drug

substances and preparations are featured in the USP.The USP founded in 1820. On the other
hand, the first edition of the NF was published in 1888. The USP is published in a combined
volume with the National Formulary as the USP-NF. If a drug ingredient or drug product has an
applicable USP quality standard , it must conform in order to use the designation "USP" or "NF".
Drugs subject to USP standards include both human drugs and animal drugs. USP-NF
standards also have a role in US federal law; a drug or drug ingredient with a name recognized
in USP-NF is considered adulterated if it does not satisfy compendial standards for strength,
quality or purity. USP also sets standards for dietary supplements and food ingredients . USP
has no role in enforcing its standards; enforcement is the responsibility of the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) and other government authorities in the United States.
The International Pharmacopoeia(IP)
The International Pharmacopoeia is a pharmacopoeia issued by the World Health Organization
as a recommendation, with the aim to provide international quality specifications for
pharmaceutical substances and dosage forms, together with supporting general methods of
analysis, for global use. Its texts can be used or adapted by any WHO member state wishing to
establish legal pharmaceutical requirements.This book was published to establish international
uniformity of terminology and standardization, unification of formulas for potent drugs and
preparations. The first volume of IP was published in 1951 and the second edition was
published in 1967 under the title of 'Specification of Pharmaceuticals Preparations'.
It comprises a collection of quality specification for pharmaceutical substances and dosage
forms together with supporting general methods of analysis that is intended to serve as source
material for reference or adaptation by any WHO member state wishing to establish
pharmaceutical requirements.
European Pharmacopoeia(EP)
The European Pharmacopoeia is a major regional pharmacopoeia which provides common
quality standards throughout the pharmaceutical industry in Europe to control the quality of
medicines, and the substances used to manufacture them. It is a published collection of
monographs which describe both the individual and general quality standards for ingredients,
dosage forms, and methods of analysis for medicines. These standards apply to medicines for
both human and veterinary use.
EP is published by council of Europe. It contains a wide range of active substances and
excipients used to prepare pharmaceutical products in Europe. It includes more than 2000
specific and general monograms. It also contains dosage forms, general monograms, materials
and containers, sutures, 268 general methods with figures or chromatograms and 2210
reagents are described.

The European pharmacopoeia is developed by the European directorate for the quality of
medicines and is a part of the council of Europe, Strasbourg, France.It has been created by the
convention on the elaboration of a European pharmacopoeia from 1964. The first edition of EP
was published in 1967. Since its 5th edition, the pharmacopoeia is published in two volumes .
Currently it is available in print version CD-ROM, USB stick and online version.
Extra Pharmacopoeia
This was first published published in 1883 by William Martindale under the title Martindale The
Extra Pharmacopoeia . Martindale, the Complete Drug Reference, is a reference book
published by Pharmaceutical Press listing some 6,000 drugs and medicines used throughout
the world, including details of over 180,000 proprietary preparations. It also includes almost 700
disease treatment reviews. It was first published in 1883 under the title Martindale: The Extra
Pharmacopoeia. Martindale contains information on drugs in clinical use worldwide, as well as
selected investigational and veterinary drugs, herbal and complementary medicines,
pharmaceutical excipients, vitamins and nutritional agents, vaccines, radiopharmaceuticals,
contrast media and diagnostic agents, medicinal gases, drugs of abuse and recreational drugs,
toxic substances, disinfectants, and pesticides.
British Pharmaceutical Codex (BPC)
The British Pharmaceutical Codex (BPC) was first published in 1907 by the Pharmaceutical
Society of Great Britain, to supplement the British Pharmacopoeia which although extensive, did
not cover all the medicinal items that a pharmacist might require in daily work.Subsequent
editions were published in 1911, 1923, 1934, 1949, 1954, 1959, 1963, 1968, and finally 1973.In
1979 a new edition was published with a new title, The Pharmaceutical Codex. The Medicines
Commission had recommended in 1972 that the British Pharmacopoeia should henceforth be
the only compendium of official standards for medicines in the UK, and the BPC lost its status
as an official book. The PSGB remained as the publishers.The current edition is the 12th,
published in 1994.
Formulary
Formulary is the official book of drugs and other medical substances recognised by the
government of the respective country of origin. It contains name, uses, doses, formulas,
packaging, labelling etc of drugs. Examples:
● British National Formulary
● USNF
● BDNF
British National Formulary (BNF)
The British National Formulary (BNF) is a United Kingdom (UK) pharmaceutical reference book
that contains a wide spectrum of information and advice on prescribing and pharmacology,
along with specific facts and details about many medicines available on the UK National Health

Service (NHS). Information within the BNF includes indication(s), contraindications, side effects,
doses, legal classification, names and prices of available proprietary and generic formulations,
and any other notable points.It was first published in 1949 as the National Formulary, with
updated versions appearing every three years until 1976.Though it is a national formulary, it
nevertheless also includes entries for some medicines which are not available under the NHS,
and must be prescribed and/or purchased privately. A symbol clearly denotes such drugs in
their entry.
It is used by pharmacists and doctors, and by other prescribing healthcare professionals; as a
reference for correct dosage, indication, interactions and side effects of drugs. It is also used as
a reassurance by those administering drugs, for example a nurse on a hospital ward, and even
for patients and others seeking an authoritative source of advice on any aspect of
pharmacotherapy.The British Pharmacopoeia specifies quality standards for the making of
drugs listed in the BNF.
Bangladesh National Formulary (BDNF)
It is an official book of drugs and related items used in Bangladesh.It contains the key
information for prescribing and dispensing of drugs such as names, indications, side effects,
cautions, contraindications, warnings, drug interactions, doses, proprietary name, dosage form,
strength etc.BDNF was first published by the Directorate of Drug Administration ,Ministry of
Health and Family Welfare, government of the people's republic of Bangladesh in association
with Bangladesh Medical Association and Bangladesh pharmaceutical society e in 2001. Later
on, newer version was published in 2006.
Encyclopaedia
An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of
knowledge either from all branches or from a particular field or discipline.Encyclopedias are
divided into articles or entries that are often arranged alphabetically by article name and
sometimes by thematic categories. For more than 2000 years encyclopaedias have existed as
summaries of extant scholarship in from comprehensible l to their readers.
The Merck Index
The Merck Index is an encyclopedia of chemicals, drugs and biologicals with over 10,000
monograph on single substances or groups of related compounds published online by the Royal
Society of Chemistry.The first edition of the Merck's Index was published in 1889 by the German
chemical company Emanuel Merck and was primarily used as a sales catalog for Merck's
growing list of chemicals it sold.
Compounds included
● Human and veterinary drugs
● Biotech drugs and monoclonal antibodies
● Biological and natural products

● Substances for used medical imaging
● Plants and traditional medicines etc.
Information provided
● Chemicals, common and generic names
● Over 15,000 trademarks and associate companies
● CAS Registry, numbers for over 12000 compounds
● Molecular formulae, weight and percentage composition etc.
PubMed
PubMed is a free search engine accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and
abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine
(NLM) at the National Institutes of Health maintain the database as part of the Entrez system of
information retrieval.From 1971 to 1997, online access to the MEDLINE database had been
primarily through institutional facilities, such as university libraries. PubMed, first released in
January 1996, ushered in the era of private, free, home- and office-based MEDLINE searching.
The PubMed system was offered free to the public starting in June 1997.
HINARI
Hinari Access to Research for Health Programme was set up by the World Health Organization
and major publishers to enable developing countries to access collections of biomedical and
health literature. There are up to 15,000 e-journals and up to 60,000 online books available to
health institutions in more than 100 countries. Hinari is part of Research4Life, the collective
name for five programs - Hinari (focusing on health), AGORA (focusing on agriculture), OARE
(focusing on environment), ARDI (focusing on applied science and technology) and GOALI
(focusing on law and justice). Together, Research4Life provides lower income countries with
free or low cost access to academic and professional peer-reviewed content online.The Hinari
programme, and the other programmes, were reviewed for the second time in 2010 and the
publishers involved have committed to continuing with it until at least 2025. Hinari has received
the high honor of the Medical Library Association's 2015 Louise Darling Medal for Collection
Development in the Health Sciences.
References
1. Introduction to Pharmacy -Md. Shah Amran
2. Wikipedia (https://www.wikipedia.org/)
3. WHO(https://www.who.int/)
4. Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/)
5. PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/)
6. Medline (https://www.medline.com/)
7. British Pharmacopoeia (https://www.pharmacopoeia.com/)
8. U.S. Pharmacopoeia (https://www.usp.org/)

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