Journal profile · Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics-Pharmacology
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications
ISSN 2451-8654 · Elsevier · United States
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.5 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,540; median 152 days to acceptance (103 articles, last 24 months); 161 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ethics in Clinical Research, Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials and Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life, together about 33.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
This companion title to Contemporary Clinical Trials is an international peer reviewed open access journal that publishes articles pertaining to all aspects of clinical trials, including, but not limited to, design, conduct, analysis, regulation and ethics. Manuscripts submitted to Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications should appeal to a readership drawn from a wide range of disciplines including medicine, life science, pharmaceutical science, biostatistics, epidemiology, computer science, management science, behavioral science, and bioethics.Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications is unique in that it is outside the confines of disease specifications, and it strives to increase the transparency of medical research and reduce publication bias by publishing scientifically valid original research findings irrespective of their perceived importance, significance or impact. Both randomized and non-randomized trials are within the scope of the Journal. Some common topics include trial design rationale and methods, operational methodologies and challenges, and positive and negative trial results. In addition to original research, the Journal also welcomes other types of communications including, but are not limited to, methodology reviews, perspectives and discussions.Through timely dissemination of advances in clinical trials, the goal of Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications is to serve as a platform to enhance the communication and collaboration within the global clinical trials community that ultimately advances this field of research for the benefit of patients.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics-Pharmacology
Editor-in-chief Howard SessoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 13%); most named United States 14, Mainland China 3, Canada 3, Sweden 2, Spain 1 (23 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ethics in Clinical ResearchMedicine15.1%
- Statistical Methods in Clinical TrialsMathematics11.2%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7%
- Meta-analysis and systematic reviewsDecision Sciences5.3%
- Health Policy Implementation ScienceHealth Professions5.1%
- Cancer survivorship and careMedicine4%
- Advanced Causal Inference TechniquesMathematics3.8%
- Digital Mental Health InterventionsPsychology3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 4 |
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 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
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 (publisher)
- 1.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.63LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- h-index
- 43OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 490OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.83OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 146LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,644 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 93 | 93 | 14 |
| 2025 | 161 | 161 | 229 |
| 2024 | 163 | 163 | 519 |
| 2023 | 189 | 189 | 991 |
| 2022 | 163 | 163 | 1,203 |
| 2021 | 174 | 174 | 1,643 |
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
152 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 110 days – 209 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 1 days (103 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 153 days
- Sample
- 103 articles with submission and acceptance dates (294 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 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 19 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 69 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 129 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 19 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,540 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,320 / EUR 2,170 / GBP 1,860 / JPY 287,750 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,950 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,540 | — | — |
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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Cover letter
- Required
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
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 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
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2451-8654
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications
What CAS zone is Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Medicine, Research & Experimental. 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 Communications?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.5; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.6, h-index 43.
How long does peer review take at Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications?
Based on the dates recorded on 103 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 152 days (interquartile range 110–209 days); authors report an average review time of about 20 weeks. 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 Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; 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 Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications based?
Of the 23 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 13%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (14), Mainland China (3) and Canada (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications open access, and what is the APC?
Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,540.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .