Journal profile · Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Drug Resistance Updates
ISSN 1368-7646 · eISSN 1532-2084 · Churchill Livingstone · ENGLAND · Bimonthly · Founded 1998
Drug Resistance Updates: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 21.6; hybrid open access; APC about USD 5,410; median 88 days to acceptance (104 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 110 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Drug Resistance Updates is published by Churchill Livingstone and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Human auditory perception and evaluation, Educational Robotics and Engineering and Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies, together about 30.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Drug Resistance Updates publishes inspiring original research, commentary and expert reviews on important developments in drug resistance in infectious disease and cancer as well as novel drugs and strategies to overcome drug resistance. It covers both basic research and clinical aspects of drug resistance, and involves disciplines as diverse as molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, pharmacology, microbiology, preclinical therapeutics, oncology, and clinical medicine. The Editors welcome and encourage the submission of original research articles while review articles are written by leaders in the field of drug resistance by invitation.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Editor-in-chief Zhesheng ChenPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 12 in mainland China (about 11%); most named United States 44, Mainland China 12, United Kingdom 10, Sweden 6, Hong Kong, China 3 (111 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering10.7%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science10%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance10%
- Antibiotic Resistance in BacteriaBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.6%
- Drug Transport and Resistance MechanismsMedicine6.1%
- Cancer, Hypoxia, and MetabolismBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.6%
- HIV/AIDS drug development and treatmentMedicine4.1%
- Cancer therapeutics and mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: yes
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: yes
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
- 21.6LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 22Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 29.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 29.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 5.28LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.36LetPub ·
- h-index
- 100LetPub ·
- h-index
- 162OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 813OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 16.2OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 35.71%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 93LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,265 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 100 | 27 | 149 |
| 2025 | 110 | 44 | 1,371 |
| 2024 | 115 | 58 | 3,745 |
| 2023 | 83 | 45 | 5,193 |
| 2022 | 48 | 23 | 3,457 |
| 2021 | 27 | 12 | 3,211 |
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
88 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 63 days – 125 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (104 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 97 days
- Sample
- 104 articles with submission and acceptance dates (250 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 acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 33 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 88 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 3 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 5,410 / EUR 5,060 / GBP 4,330 / JPY 671,000 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 5,620 | — | — |
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
Article types accepted11, with length limits
- commentaryN.B. For reasons of available space, manuscripts that exceed the required word limits (below) will be declined automatically. All articles other than Editorials…main text ≤ 1,000 words
- correspondenceN.B. For reasons of available space, manuscripts that exceed the required word limits (below) will be declined automatically. All articles other than Editorials…main text ≤ 1,000 words
- debateDebates comprise two commentaries of opposing or contrasting opinions written by two different groups of authors.Length not stated
- editorialN.B. For reasons of available space, manuscripts that exceed the required word limits (below) will be declined automatically. All articles other than Editorials…main text ≤ 1,000 words
- letter to the editorLetters to the Editor should be no more than 1000 words, one figure and less than 10 references.Length not stated
- letters to the editorN.B. For reasons of available space, manuscripts that exceed the required word limits (below) will be declined automatically. All articles other than Editorials…main text ≤ 1,000 words
- opinionN.B. For reasons of available space, manuscripts that exceed the required word limits (below) will be declined automatically. All articles other than Editorials…Length not stated
- research articleN.B. For reasons of available space, manuscripts that exceed the required word limits (below) will be declined automatically. All articles other than Editorials…Length not stated
- research briefResearch Brief should not exceed 1100 words, including a summary of no more than 50 words (but not including up to 10 references) and may be a preliminary repor…Length not stated
- reviewN.B. For reasons of available space, manuscripts that exceed the required word limits (below) will be declined automatically. All articles other than Editorials…Length not stated
- review articleN.B. For reasons of available space, manuscripts that exceed the required word limits (below) will be declined automatically. All articles other than Editorials…main text ≤ 10,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, 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 ·- Publication ethics
Elsevier Publishing Ethics Policy Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
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.
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
- Churchill Livingstone
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1998
- ISSN
- 1368-7646
- Electronic ISSN
- 1532-2084
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Drug Resistance Updates
What CAS zone is Drug Resistance Updates in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Drug Resistance Updates is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Pharmacology & Pharmacy; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Drug Resistance Updates?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 21.6; CiteScore 29.1, h-index 162.
How long does peer review take at Drug Resistance Updates?
Based on the dates recorded on 104 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 88 days (interquartile range 63–125 days); the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. 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 Resistance Updates?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation. 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 Resistance Updates based?
Of the 111 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 12 (about 11%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (44), Mainland China (12) and United Kingdom (10). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Drug Resistance Updates?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Drug Resistance Updates is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Drug Resistance Updates open access, and what is the APC?
Drug Resistance Updates is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 5,410.
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: .