Journal profile · Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Investigational New Drugs
ISSN 0167-6997 · eISSN 1573-0646 · Springer US · UNITED STATES · Quarterly · Founded 1983
Investigational New Drugs: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.33; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,690; median 56 days to acceptance (90 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 101 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Investigational New Drugs is published by Springer US 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 Cancer Treatment and Pharmacology, Cancer therapeutics and mechanisms and Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations, together about 30.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Oncology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The development of new anticancer agents is one of the most rapidly changing aspects of cancer research. Investigational New Drugs provides a forum for the rapid dissemination of information on new anticancer agents. The papers published are of interest to the medical chemist, toxicologist, pharmacist, pharmacologist, biostatistician and clinical oncologist. Investigational New Drugs provides the fastest possible publication of new discoveries and results for the whole community of scientists developing anticancer agents.Each issue contains original articles dealing with anticancer drug development. Other sections are devoted to invited review articles and letters to the editor. The journal also affords the opportunity to publish the proceedings of special workshops and symposia devoted to the development of new anticancer agents. Provided they add to the understanding of the investigational agents, the journal is not adverse to publishing clinical trials with negative results.Investigational New Drugs cuts across all the usual lines or subdisciplines, providing a locus for the presentation of relevant investigations and the discussion of critical questions appropriate to the entire field of new anticancer drug development.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Editor-in-chief Eric RaymondPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 4%); most named United States 15, France 3, Spain 2, Mainland China 1, United Kingdom 1 (23 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cancer Treatment and PharmacologyMedicine10.9%
- Cancer therapeutics and mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.8%
- Lung Cancer Treatments and MutationsMedicine9.7%
- Colorectal Cancer Treatments and StudiesMedicine8.1%
- Lung Cancer Research StudiesMedicine5.8%
- Pancreatic and Hepatic Oncology ResearchMedicine4.4%
- HER2/EGFR in Cancer ResearchMedicine4.4%
- Cancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersMedicine3.5%
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 | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | Zone 4 |
| 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 | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Oncology | 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
MEDLINEEmbaseCASCurrent ContentsPublisher 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
- 3.33LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.82LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.69LetPub ·
- h-index
- 80LetPub ·
- h-index
- 116OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,530OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.25OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 33.73%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 98LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 599,800Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,984 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 41 | 18 | 22 |
| 2025 | 101 | 29 | 340 |
| 2024 | 74 | 32 | 555 |
| 2023 | 91 | 38 | 680 |
| 2022 | 124 | 52 | 1,425 |
| 2021 | 165 | 67 | 2,927 |
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
56 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 40 days – 78 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 16 days (93 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 78 days
- Sample
- 90 articles with submission and acceptance dates (162 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 1 monthLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double 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 4,690 / EUR 3,690 / GBP 2,990 | — | — |
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 prepare8 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 3,500 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- editorialThe journal accepts the following types of papers: preclinical studies, phase I studies, phase II studies, phase III studies, short reports, reviews, Letters to…Length not stated
- letterThe journal accepts the following types of papers: preclinical studies, phase I studies, phase II studies, phase III studies, short reports, reviews, Letters to…Length not stated
- letters to the editorThe journal accepts the following types of papers: preclinical studies, phase I studies, phase II studies, phase III studies, short reports, reviews, Letters to…main text ≤ 750 words · figures and tables ≤ 1 · references ≤ 3
- meta-analysisThe journal accepts the following types of papers: preclinical studies, phase I studies, phase II studies, phase III studies, short reports, reviews, Letters to…Length not stated
- original researchThe journal accepts the following types of papers: preclinical studies, phase I studies, phase II studies, phase III studies, short reports, reviews, Letters to…Length not stated
- reviewThe journal accepts the following types of papers: preclinical studies, phase I studies, phase II studies, phase III studies, short reports, reviews, Letters to…Length not stated
- review articleThe journal accepts the following types of papers: preclinical studies, phase I studies, phase II studies, phase III studies, short reports, reviews, Letters to…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, 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 Competing Interests
Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Availability
This journal encourages authors to provide an optional statement of data availability in their article. Data Availability Statements should include information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found, including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Data availability statements can also indicate whether …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Investigational New Drugs, 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 US
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1983
- ISSN
- 0167-6997
- Electronic ISSN
- 1573-0646
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 44, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Investigational New Drugs
What CAS zone is Investigational New Drugs in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Investigational New Drugs is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Pharmacology & Pharmacy / Oncology. 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 Investigational New Drugs?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.33; CiteScore 5.8, h-index 116.
How long does peer review take at Investigational New Drugs?
Based on the dates recorded on 90 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 56 days (interquartile range 40–78 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly 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 Investigational New Drugs?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Manuscript length: ≤ 3,500 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; 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 Investigational New Drugs based?
Of the 23 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (15), France (3) and Spain (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Investigational New Drugs?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Investigational New Drugs is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Investigational New Drugs open access, and what is the APC?
Investigational New Drugs is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,690.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .