Journal profile · Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Drug Development Research
ISSN 0272-4391 · eISSN 1098-2299 · John Wiley and Sons Inc. · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 1981
Drug Development Research: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.16; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,980; median 101 days to acceptance (98 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 189 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Drug Development Research is published by John Wiley and Sons 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 Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research, Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling and Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior, together about 28.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Drug Development Research publishes research papers and review-type articles covering all area within drug development: from target identification and validation and structure–activity relationship studies, through to post-market clinical reports. Topics covered include but are not limited to medicinal and process chemistry, pharmacology, biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals, toxicology, drug delivery, formulation, pharmacokinetics, clinical trial reviews and post-approval/post-marketing evaluation. The journal also welcomes manuscripts on new compounds and technologies in all areas focused on human therapeutics, as well as global management, health care policy and strategy, and regulatory issues that involve drug discovery and development. Each submission is categorized in to one of the following sub-sections of DDR: Hit, Lead & Candidate Discovery e.g., target identification and validation, drug design, SAR studies, lead identification and optimization, etc. Preclinical Research & Development e.g., in vitro and in vivo evaluation of pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, ADME, safety, toxicology, formulation, drug delivery, etc. Clinical Research e.g., Phases I–III clinical trials, trial material manufacturing (process chemistry), quality control/assurance, etc. Post-Market Research e.g., Phase IV clinical trials, post-market safety monitoring, off-label investigations, etc. Enabling Technologies e.g., genomics, metabolomics, proteomics, etc. Strategy, Management & Health Policy e.g., drug pricing and access, health care provision, etc. Articles are considered for publication based on the aforementioned scope and the quality of the science reported. Only articles reporting rigorously conducted research and offering advancement to the scientific literature will be considered. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the Author Guidelines and submitted online at https://wiley.atyponrex.com/journal/DDR.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Editor-in-chief Steven FletcherPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 6%); most named India 5, United States 4, Mainland China 2, United Kingdom 2, South Korea 2 (33 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeuroscience11%
- Receptor Mechanisms and SignalingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.7%
- Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeuroscience7.8%
- Adenosine and Purinergic SignalingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.3%
- Cholinesterase and Neurodegenerative DiseasesMedicine5.6%
- Ion channel regulation and functionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.1%
- Computational Drug Discovery MethodsComputer Science4.7%
- Chemical synthesis and alkaloidsChemistry4.5%
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 | Chemistry, Medicinal | 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 | Chemistry, Medicinal | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Chemistry, Medicinal | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPubMedEmbaseCASCAB AbstractsCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: ProQuest
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
- 4.16LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 7Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.77LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.89LetPub ·
- h-index
- 54LetPub ·
- h-index
- 97OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,948OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.8OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 13.18%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 169LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,202 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 169 | 73 | 139 |
| 2025 | 189 | 57 | 760 |
| 2024 | 166 | 77 | 1,092 |
| 2023 | 133 | 61 | 1,561 |
| 2022 | 122 | 20 | 1,859 |
| 2021 | 137 | 19 | 2,104 |
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
101 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 71 days – 149 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 12 days (99 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 115 days
- Sample
- 98 articles with submission and acceptance dates (386 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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 12%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 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 3,980 / EUR 3,300 / GBP 2,670 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted10, with length limits
- brief reportDrug Development Research publishes the following contribution types: Brief Report Commentary Research Article Review Article Editorial Erratum 1. Brief Report …main text ≤ 1,500 words
- commentaryDrug Development Research publishes the following contribution types: Brief Report Commentary Research Article Review Article Editorial Erratum 1. Brief Report …main text ≤ 1,500 words
- editorialDrug Development Research publishes the following contribution types: Brief Report Commentary Research Article Review Article Editorial Erratum 1. Brief Report …Length not stated
- erratumErratumLength not stated
- meta-analysisDrug Development Research publishes the following contribution types: Brief Report Commentary Research Article Review Article Editorial Erratum 1. Brief Report …Length not stated
- research articleDrug Development Research publishes the following contribution types: Brief Report Commentary Research Article Review Article Editorial Erratum 1. Brief Report …main text ≤ 4,000 words
- reviewDrug Development Research publishes the following contribution types: Brief Report Commentary Research Article Review Article Editorial Erratum 1. Brief Report …Length not stated
- review articleDrug Development Research publishes the following contribution types: Brief Report Commentary Research Article Review Article Editorial Erratum 1. Brief Report …main text ≤ 7,000 words
- systematic reviewDrug Development Research publishes the following contribution types: Brief Report Commentary Research Article Review Article Editorial Erratum 1. Brief Report …Length not stated
- viewpointDrug Development Research publishes the following contribution types: Brief Report Commentary Research Article Review Article Editorial Erratum 1. Brief Report …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
On initial submission, the submitting author will be prompted to provide the email address and country for all contributing authors. All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Review editorial standards and scroll down for a description of authorship criteria.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Availability
This journal expects data sharing. Review Wiley’s Data Sharing policy where you will be able to see and select the data availability statement that is right for your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Reproduction of Copyright Material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be shown in the contribution. It is your responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. For more information visit Wiley’s Copyright Terms & Conditions FAQ.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access WALS + standard CTA/ELA and/or Open Access for hybrid titles
no submission fees Model summary
You may choose to publish under the terms of the journal’s standard copyright agreement, or Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 1. Submission and Peer Review Process
single-anonymized peer review model Model summary
New submissions should be made via the Research Exchange submission portal https://authors.wiley.com/journal/DDR. Should your manuscript proceed to the revision stage, you will be directed to make your revisions via the same submission portal. You may check the status of your submission at anytime by logging on to authors.wiley.com and clicking the “My Submissions” button. For technical help with …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
preprints accepted Model summary
Drug Development Research will consider for review articles previously available as preprints.
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
- John Wiley and Sons Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1981
- ISSN
- 0272-4391
- Electronic ISSN
- 1098-2299
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 87, Issue 7 (November 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Drug Development Research
What CAS zone is Drug Development Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Drug Development Research is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Chemistry, Medicinal / 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 Drug Development Research?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.16; CiteScore 7, h-index 97.
How long does peer review take at Drug Development Research?
Based on the dates recorded on 98 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 101 days (interquartile range 71–149 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 12%. 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 Drug Development Research?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not 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 Drug Development Research based?
Of the 33 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 6%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are India (5), United States (4) and Mainland China (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Drug Development Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Drug Development Research is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, CAS, CAB Abstracts and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Drug Development Research open access, and what is the APC?
Drug Development Research is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,980.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .