Journal profile · Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
ISSN 1474-1776 · eISSN 1474-1784 · Springer Nature · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 2002
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 90.65; hybrid open access; community-reported acceptance: mostly invited papers; 241 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery is published by Springer Nature 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 Science, Research, and Medicine, Biotechnology and Related Fields and Computational Drug Discovery Methods, together about 30.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery is a monthly journal aimed at everyone working in the drug discovery and development arena. In addition to the highest-quality reviews and perspectives covering a broad scope, each issue includes news stories that investigate the hottest topics in drug discovery, timely summaries of key primary research papers, and concise updates on the latest advances in areas such as new drug approvals, patent law and emerging industry trends and strategies. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery is part of the Nature Reviews portfolio of journals. To learn more about Nature Reviews, check out this animation and the Nature Reviews page. You can also find a summary of the editorial input and checks here.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 10, Germany 3, United States 1, India 1, Italy 1 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Science, Research, and MedicineMedicine11.7%
- Biotechnology and Related FieldsMedicine10.5%
- Computational Drug Discovery MethodsComputer Science8.1%
- Pharmaceutical Economics and PolicyEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.3%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.2%
- Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies ResearchMedicine5%
- Biomedical Ethics and RegulationMedicine4.5%
- Biosimilars and Bioanalytical MethodsImmunology and Microbiology4.2%
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 | 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 | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | 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 | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview 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
- 90.65LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 159.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 32.58LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 18.27LetPub ·
- h-index
- 289LetPub ·
- h-index
- 484OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,389OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 14.97OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 6.48%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 36LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 6,873 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 189 | 8 | 194 |
| 2025 | 241 | 19 | 3,032 |
| 2024 | 244 | 28 | 6,861 |
| 2023 | 244 | 27 | 10,907 |
| 2022 | 243 | 33 | 20,999 |
| 2021 | 247 | 35 | 36,368 |
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
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Mostly invited papersLetPub ·
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.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 2002
- ISSN
- 1474-1776
- Electronic ISSN
- 1474-1784
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
What CAS zone is Nature Reviews Drug Discovery in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology / 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 Nature Reviews Drug Discovery?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 90.65; CiteScore 159.2, h-index 484.
Where are the editorial board members of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (10), Germany (3) and United States (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Nature Reviews Drug Discovery?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Nature Reviews Drug Discovery is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Nature Reviews Drug Discovery open access, and what is the APC?
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
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: .