Following a major review of Arm‟s Length Bodies (ALBs) in 2004, the decision was taken to abolish the National Biological Standards Board (NBSB). NBSB had been a non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the UK Government, responsible for safeguarding and advancing public health by assuring the quality and safety of biologicals, through its management of the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC).

By the authority of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, Section 159, the responsibilities of NBSB were transferred on 1st April 2009 to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) another UK public body controlled by the Department of Health, created by the Health Protection Act 2004.

NIBSC, as part of the Health Protection Agency, remains an organisation wholly controlled and backed by the UK government, and continues in its core functions:

• Control and evaluation of biological medicines.
• Development and provision of key biological standards and other reference materials.

The work of NIBSC contributes with all the HPA centres to the HPA's role in providing an integrated approach to protecting UK public health.