When a pharmaceutical buyer asks for 'IP grade' or 'USP grade', they are asking for material that meets the requirements of a specific pharmacopoeia. Understanding what those letters mean helps you order the right grade and ask for the right documents.
What the letters stand for
- IP: Indian Pharmacopoeia, published by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission. It is the official book of drug standards in India.
- BP: British Pharmacopoeia, the UK's official standards.
- USP: United States Pharmacopeia, the US standards, also widely referenced internationally.
- FCC: Food Chemicals Codex, a standard for food-grade ingredients that often appears alongside pharmacopoeia grades.
Each pharmacopoeia has a monograph for a substance that sets its identity tests, assay (purity), limits for impurities and other requirements. A material labelled 'IP' should meet the current IP monograph.
How this differs from technical and food grades
Technical grade is made for industrial use and may contain impurities that do not matter in that use. Food grade meets food-safety standards such as FSSAI or FCC requirements. Pharmacopoeia grades meet the drug standards for identity, purity and impurity limits. Some products, such as sodium citrate, are offered in grades that meet several standards at once. Our guide Technical vs AR vs Food Grade covers the wider grade picture.
Which one do you need?
Use the pharmacopoeia your product is registered against. Products made for the Indian market usually reference IP; export products may need BP, USP or another pharmacopoeia, depending on the destination. Your regulatory or QA team will specify which.
Documents to ask for
- A certificate of analysis (COA) for the batch, stating the pharmacopoeia and edition it was tested against
- The manufacturer's name and the batch's manufacturing and expiry or retest dates
- The safety data sheet (SDS)
- Any further documents your vendor qualification requires
Our guide How to Read a Certificate of Analysis explains what to check on a COA.
Grades we supply
Several products in our catalogue are offered in grades labelled IP, BP and/or USP, including sodium citrate, ascorbic acid, dextrose monohydrate, methylparaben and propylene glycol. See the pharmaceutical industry page for the full list.