Journal profile · Pharmacology & Pharmacy
AAPS Journal
ISSN 1550-7416 · Springer International Publishing · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1999
AAPS Journal: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.35; hybrid open access; APC about USD 5,090; median 103 days to acceptance (110 articles, last 24 months); 184 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
AAPS Journal is published by Springer International Publishing and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Biosimilars and Bioanalytical Methods, Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research and Drug Solubulity and Delivery Systems, together about 27.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The AAPS Journal, an official journal of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), publishes novel and significant findings in the various areas of pharmaceutical sciences impacting human and veterinary therapeutics, including:
· Drug Design and Discovery
· Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
· Biopharmaceutics, Formulation, and Drug Delivery
· Metabolism and Transport
· Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Pharmacometrics
· Translational Research
· Clinical Evaluations and Therapeutic Outcomes
· Regulatory ScienceWe invite submissions under the following article types:
· Original Research Articles
· Reviews and Mini-reviews
· White Papers, Commentaries, and Editorials
· Meeting Reports
· Brief/Technical Reports and Rapid Communications
· Regulatory Notes
· Tutorials
· Protocols in the Pharmaceutical SciencesIn addition, The AAPS Journal publishes themes, organized by guest editors, which are focused on particular areas of current interest to our field. The AAPS Journal publishes six issues a year.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Editor-in-chief Anurag S. RathorePublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 37, Japan 3, Sweden 2, United Kingdom 1, South Korea 1 (46 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Biosimilars and Bioanalytical MethodsImmunology and Microbiology10.2%
- Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies ResearchMedicine8.9%
- Drug Solubulity and Delivery SystemsPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics8.6%
- Statistical Methods in Clinical TrialsMathematics7.1%
- Pharmacogenetics and Drug MetabolismPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics6.6%
- Drug Transport and Resistance MechanismsMedicine6.6%
- Protein purification and stabilityBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.8%
- Pharmaceutical studies and practicesMedicine4.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEEmbaseCASPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, BFI List, CNPIEC, Chinese Academy of Medical Science (CAMS), Cortellis Drug Discovery Intelligence, Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST), Meta, OCLC WorldCat Discovery Service, Ovid Discovery, Reaxys, SCImago, TD Net Discovery Service, Wanfang, eLibrary.ru, Index Medicus, Chem Abstracts
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.35LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.81LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.32LetPub ·
- h-index
- 96LetPub ·
- h-index
- 150OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,649OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.65OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 37.2%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 168LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,100,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,607 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 122 | 67 | 65 |
| 2025 | 184 | 99 | 738 |
| 2024 | 125 | 49 | 769 |
| 2023 | 102 | 49 | 1,120 |
| 2022 | 113 | 61 | 2,012 |
| 2021 | 123 | 74 | 4,434 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
103 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 80 days – 139 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 32 days (110 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 137 days
- Sample
- 110 articles with submission and acceptance dates (322 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 1 monthLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 25 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 5,090 / EUR 3,990 / GBP 3,190 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted12
- brief technical notesBrief Technical Notes, normally more limited in scope than Original Research Papers, must be of high quality, general interest, and sufficient importance to war…Length not stated
- editorials, commentaries or summariesEditorials, Commentaries or Summaries are usually published by invitation only.Length not stated
- letters to the editorLetters to the Editor: May be submitted by readers commenting on articles already published by the Journal.Length not stated
- meeting noticesA Meeting Notice provides readers with information on an upcoming AAPS or AAPS-affiliated meeting, including title of the meeting, date, time, location, an outl…Length not stated
- meeting reportsMeeting Reports on AAPS or AAPS-affiliated meetings provide readers with summaries of such meetings, including consensus views.Length not stated
- mini-reviewsMini-Reviews discuss a more narrowly focused topic of recent research.Length not stated
- original researchOriginal ResearchLength not stated
- original research papersOriginal Research Papers contain innovative, hypothesis-driven research that is supported by sound experimental design, methodology, and data interpretation.Length not stated
- rapid communicationsRapid Communications provide a venue for fast-breaking research updates or other news items.Length not stated
- regulatory notesRegulatory Notes provide a summary of regulatory decisions made and rationale for the regulatory decision made on a product.Length not stated
- reviewReviewLength not stated
- reviewsReviews, usually by invitation and organized into themed issues, report on recent advances in pharmaceutical research.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Authorship
Originality: manuscript must not be previously published or under simultaneous consideration. Model summary
During the manuscript submission process, all authors will be required to confirm that the manuscript has not been previously published in any language anywhere and that it is not under simultaneous consideration by another journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Conflicts of interest must be declared by all authors. Model summary
Authors will be required to declare all conflicts of interest (or their absence) during the submission of a manuscript.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
AAPS Journals Ethics Policy must be adhered to prior to submission. Model summary
Authors are required to review and adhere to the AAPS Journals Ethics Policy (http://www.aaps.org/JournalsEthics) in full prior to submitting manuscripts to The AAPS Journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright Transfer
Copyright transfer to the Publisher is required. Model summary
The Copyright Revision Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-533) requires that Authors transfer their copyrights to the Publisher, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, in order to provide for the widest possible dissemination of professional and scientific literature. A signed Transfer of Copyright form must be submitted online with the manuscript. The Transfer of Copyright form for an accepte…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
No submission or publication charges unless choosing Open Choice Model summary
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in The AAPS Journal, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review The AAPS Journals Make Use of Portable Peer Review
If your manuscript has been declined, and you are planning to submit your article to another of the four AAPS journals (AAPS Open, The AAPS Journal, AAPSPharmSciTech, or Pharmaceutical Research), we can help make the peer review process faster and smoother by extending the use of previous peer reviewer comments! Portable Peer Review, an opt-into service available for any author of these journals, …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1999
- ISSN
- 1550-7416
- Society / sponsor
- American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about AAPS Journal
What CAS zone is AAPS Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, AAPS Journal is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Pharmacology & Pharmacy. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of AAPS Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.35; CiteScore 6.5, h-index 150.
How long does peer review take at AAPS Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 110 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 103 days (interquartile range 80–139 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of AAPS Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Vancouver; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of AAPS Journal based?
Of the 46 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (37), Japan (3) and Sweden (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index AAPS Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, AAPS Journal is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is AAPS Journal open access, and what is the APC?
AAPS Journal is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 5,090.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-24). Last updated: .