Journal profile · Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Contemporary Clinical Trials
ISSN 1551-7144 · eISSN 1559-2030 · Elsevier Inc. · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 2005
Contemporary Clinical Trials: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.87; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,140; median 164 days to acceptance (112 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 311 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Contemporary Clinical Trials is published by Elsevier Inc. 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 Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials, Ethics in Clinical Research and Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life, together about 23.9% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Contemporary Clinical Trials is an international peer reviewed journal that publishes manuscripts pertaining to all aspects of clinical trials, including, but not limited to, design, conduct, analysis, regulation and ethics. Manuscripts submitted should appeal to a readership drawn from disciplines including medicine, biostatistics, epidemiology, computer science, management science, behavioural science, pharmaceutical science, and bioethics. Full-length papers not exceeding 4,000 words, short communications not exceeding 1,500 words, as well as systemic reviews of clinical trials and methodologies will be published. Perspectives/commentaries on current issues and the impact of clinical trials on the practice of medicine and health policy are also welcome.The following topics are covered in the journal:Unconventional design features of specific trials and their rationalePreliminary or full results of clinical trials with unconventional design featuresStatistical methods for all aspects of clinical trialsMethodologies for clinical trial operations including trial management and optimization; patient recruitment and retention; and trial quality monitoring and assessmentData management methodologies including data collection; database maintenance; data quality assurance; safety monitoring and risk management; and patient registriesRegulatory requirements and their impact on clinical trialsEthical and legal considerations in clinical trialsRisk-benefit, cost-effectiveness and decision analyses in clinical trialsContemporary Clinical Trials is unique in that it is outside the confines of disease specifications, and it strives to adapt and grow with an expanding clinical trials landscape as the needs of clinical research evolve in today's dynamic healthcare environment.Having taken upon the important role as a platform for knowledge exchange between experts in different disciplines related to clinical trials, the ultimate goal of Contemporary Clinical Trials is to advance this field of research for the benefit of patients.Authors are also welcome to submit to the journal's open access companion title, Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Editor-in-chief Howard SessoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 1%); most named United States 206, Canada 13, Italy 10, United Kingdom 7, Australia 4 (272 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Statistical Methods in Clinical TrialsMathematics11%
- Ethics in Clinical ResearchMedicine7.3%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.7%
- Obesity, Physical Activity, DietMedicine5.4%
- Mobile Health and mHealth ApplicationsHealth Professions5.2%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering4.8%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.8%
- Meta-analysis and systematic reviewsDecision Sciences4.7%
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 | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | 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 | Medicine, Research & Experimental | 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
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
- 1.87LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.97LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.83LetPub ·
- h-index
- 51LetPub ·
- h-index
- 94OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,934OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.8OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 25.66%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 289LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,081 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 209 | 135 | 27 |
| 2025 | 311 | 206 | 378 |
| 2024 | 272 | 215 | 1,021 |
| 2023 | 262 | 196 | 1,590 |
| 2022 | 311 | 215 | 3,058 |
| 2021 | 310 | 202 | 3,983 |
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 PubMed · to
164 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 128 days – 211 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (112 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 169 days
- Sample
- 112 articles with submission and acceptance dates (598 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)
- 3–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 93 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 142 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 3,140 / EUR 2,940 / GBP 2,510 / JPY 389,450 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,410 | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted4, with length limits
- full length articlesBeside Full Length Articles (limited to 4,000 or fewer words), Contemporary Clinical Trials invites Short Communications (manuscripts of 1500 or fewer words) an…Length not stated
- letters to the editorBeside Full Length Articles (limited to 4,000 or fewer words), Contemporary Clinical Trials invites Short Communications (manuscripts of 1500 or fewer words) an…Length not stated
- short communicationBeside Full Length Articles (limited to 4,000 or fewer words), Contemporary Clinical Trials invites Short Communications (manuscripts of 1500 or fewer words) an…main text ≤ 1,500 words
- short communicationsBeside Full Length Articles (limited to 4,000 or fewer words), Contemporary Clinical Trials invites Short Communications (manuscripts of 1500 or fewer words) an…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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
- Elsevier Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 2005
- ISSN
- 1551-7144
- Electronic ISSN
- 1559-2030
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Contemporary Clinical Trials
What CAS zone is Contemporary Clinical Trials in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Contemporary Clinical Trials is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Medicine, Research & Experimental / Pharmacology & Pharmacy. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Contemporary Clinical Trials?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.87; CiteScore 3.6, h-index 94.
How long does peer review take at Contemporary Clinical Trials?
Based on the dates recorded on 112 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 164 days (interquartile range 128–211 days); authors report an average review time of 3–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Contemporary Clinical Trials based?
Of the 272 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 1%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (206), Canada (13) and Italy (10). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Contemporary Clinical Trials?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Contemporary Clinical Trials is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Contemporary Clinical Trials open access, and what is the APC?
Contemporary Clinical Trials is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,140.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .