Journal profile · Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics-Pharmacology
Drugs in R&D
ISSN 1174-5886 · eISSN 1179-6901 · Springer International Publishing · New Zealand · 4 issues a year, 2010- · Founded 1999
Drugs in R&D: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.51; fully open access; APC about USD 3,390; median 145 days to acceptance (27 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 31 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Drugs in R&D is published by Springer International Publishing 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 Cancer Treatment and Pharmacology, Antibiotics Pharmacokinetics and Efficacy and Pharmacogenetics and Drug Metabolism, together about 19.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Pharmacology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Drugs in R&D is an international, peer reviewed, open access, online only journal, and provides timely information from all phases of drug research and development that will inform clinical practice. Healthcare decision makers are thus provided with knowledge about the developing place of a drug in therapy. The Journal includes: Preclinical (in vitro and in vivo) research of direct relevance to clinical drug development Negative/neutral study data Studies on discontinued drugs/indications Drug stability studies Bioequivalence and biosimilar studies
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics-Pharmacology
Editor-in-chief Anton van RensburgPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 12, Italy 6, Japan 4, Spain 3, Canada 3 (60 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer Treatment and PharmacologyMedicine7.2%
- Antibiotics Pharmacokinetics and EfficacyMedicine6.2%
- Pharmacogenetics and Drug MetabolismPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics6.1%
- Biosimilars and Bioanalytical MethodsImmunology and Microbiology6.1%
- Pharmaceutical studies and practicesMedicine6.1%
- Diabetes Treatment and ManagementMedicine5.3%
- HIV/AIDS drug development and treatmentMedicine4.8%
- Pharmacological Effects and Toxicity StudiesMedicine4.8%
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 | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 4 |
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 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
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, Semantic Scholar
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
- 2.51LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.92LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 39LetPub ·
- h-index
- 62OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 467OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.27OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 30LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 478,100Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,368 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 18 | 18 | 13 |
| 2025 | 31 | 31 | 52 |
| 2024 | 49 | 49 | 255 |
| 2023 | 38 | 38 | 325 |
| 2022 | 36 | 36 | 266 |
| 2021 | 41 | 41 | 546 |
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
145 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 115 days – 221 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 29 days (53 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 174 days
- Sample
- 27 articles with submission and acceptance dates (57 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 8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 8 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 | EUR 2,690 / USD 3,390 / GBP 2,290 | Yes | CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,490 / EUR 2,790 / GBP 2,390 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 2,390 / USD 3,490 / EUR 2,790 | Yes | — |
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
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
Article types accepted10
- case reportPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- editorialInternal Review by Editorial Staff: The journal editor will perform an initial appraisal of each manuscript. If your paper has been peer reviewed by another jou…Length not stated
- meta-analysisPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- opinionPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- original researchPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- perspectivePlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- research articlePlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- reviewPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- review articlePlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- systematic reviewPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship Principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
In confirming the publication of your article with open access you agree to the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License 4.0 International License Find more about the license agreement Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Drugs in R&D, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
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
- New Zealand
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- 4 issues a year, 2010-
- Founded
- 1999
- ISSN
- 1174-5886
- Electronic ISSN
- 1179-6901
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 26, Issue 2 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Drugs in R&D
What CAS zone is Drugs in R&D in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Drugs in R&D is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 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 Drugs in R&D?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.51; CiteScore 4, h-index 62.
How long does peer review take at Drugs in R&D?
Based on the dates recorded on 27 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 145 days (interquartile range 115–221 days); authors report an average review time of about 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Drugs in R&D?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 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 Drugs in R&D based?
Of the 60 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (12), Italy (6) and Japan (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Drugs in R&D?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Drugs in R&D is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase and CAS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Drugs in R&D open access, and what is the APC?
Drugs in R&D is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,390.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .