Journal profile · Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Molecular Therapy
ISSN 1525-0016 · eISSN 1525-0024 · Cell Press · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 2000
Molecular Therapy: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 11.24; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,500; median 153 days to acceptance (111 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 607 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular Therapy is published by Cell Press 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 Virus-based gene therapy research, RNA Interference and Gene Delivery and CRISPR and Genetic Engineering, together about 47% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Molecular Therapy is the leading journal for research in the areas of gene transfer, vector development and design, stem cell manipulation, development of gene-, peptide-, protein-, oligonucleotide-, and cell-based therapeutics to correct genetic and acquired diseases, vaccine development, pre-clinical target validation, safety/efficacy studies, and clinical trials. Molecular Therapy is dedicated to promoting the sciences in genetics, medicine, and biotechnology. Publishing important peer-reviewed research and cutting-edge reviews and commentaries, the journal continues to attract the best material in the field. Molecular Therapy's 2024 impact factor is 12.To accommodate the rapid growth of Molecular Therapy, articles will be submitted and published in one of the following subsections (for section editors, please see the editorial board page):Biomarker and therapeutic target identificationCell therapyClinical gene and cell therapiesEpigenome editingGenome editingImmunotherapyMolecular diagnostics and imagingNon-viral gene therapyRNA therapiesSmall-molecule therapiesVaccine developmentViral gene therapy
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Virus-based gene therapy researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology25.8%
- RNA Interference and Gene DeliveryBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology13.3%
- CRISPR and Genetic EngineeringBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.9%
- Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in InsectsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7%
- CAR-T cell therapy researchMedicine6.8%
- Cancer Research and TreatmentsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
- Immunotherapy and Immune ResponsesImmunology and Microbiology3.6%
- Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniquesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology2.7%
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 | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Genetics & Heredity | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Genetics & Heredity | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | 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 | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Genetics & Heredity | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Medicine, Research & Experimental | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
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
- 11.24LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2024
- 12Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 17.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 17.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 3.81LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.86LetPub ·
- h-index
- 158LetPub ·
- h-index
- 261OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 5,576OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 7.3OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 35.37%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 369LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 22,999 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 417 | 344 | 252 |
| 2025 | 607 | 576 | 4,277 |
| 2024 | 436 | 436 | 6,133 |
| 2023 | 289 | 289 | 7,484 |
| 2022 | 291 | 291 | 12,702 |
| 2021 | 318 | 306 | 15,255 |
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
153 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 83 days – 207 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 6 days (111 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 162 days
- Sample
- 111 articles with submission and acceptance dates (1,124 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 hardLetPub ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 136 daysPublisher 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 4,500 / EUR 4,170 / GBP 3,600 / JPY 558,140 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,500 | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open Access
Article Publishing Charge (APC): USD 4,500 (excluding taxes). The amount you pay may be reduced during submission if applicable.
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
- Cell Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2000
- ISSN
- 1525-0016
- Electronic ISSN
- 1525-0024
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Molecular Therapy
What CAS zone is Molecular Therapy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular Therapy is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology / Genetics & Heredity / Medicine, Research & Experimental; 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 Molecular Therapy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 11.24; CiteScore 17.9, h-index 261.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Therapy?
Based on the dates recorded on 111 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 153 days (interquartile range 83–207 days); authors report an average review time of about 1 month; 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.
Which databases index Molecular Therapy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Therapy is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Molecular Therapy open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular Therapy is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,500.
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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .