Abstract
The Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science (JAPS) enters a new phase of development from June 2026 onwards, with the journal now being published in partnership with the renowned scientific publisher, SAGE. The journal’s manuscript submission and peer review workflow has now been transitioned to ScholarOne, a widely used platform for scholarly publishing. These changes are an important operational step intended to improve the services to authors, reviewers, readers, and the wider research community.
SAGE is an established academic publisher with long-standing experience in scholarly publishing. Founded in 1965, SAGE has more than six decades of experience in academic publishing and has built a strong international presence across scientific, medical, technical, and social science disciplines. The publisher manages a broad portfolio of journals and other scholarly resources and has established expertise in journal production, digital dissemination, and publishing services. The move to SAGE begins a publishing arrangement that will support the journal’s next stage of development.
For JAPS, this partnership is expected to strengthen publishing support while allowing the journal to maintain its editorial independence. The editorial principles of JAPS will remain unchanged, and it will continue to uphold scientific quality, ethical editorial practice, rigorous peer review, and responsible publication standards. Editorial independence will continue to guide the journal’s decisions on peer review, manuscript suitability, and content selection.
This partnership is an operational step forward for the journal. Contemporary scholarly publishing requires more than peer review alone. It also depends on reliable production workflows, better digital discoverability, accessibility, and long-term visibility of published work. By working with SAGE, JAPS aims to improve these areas while continuing to serve the pharmaceutical sciences community. Through this partnership, authors can expect improved production standards, wider global visibility, stronger digital dissemination, and enhanced discoverability across academic platforms and library networks.
In addition, ScholarOne, which integrates with the Web of Science ecosystem, is familiar to many researchers and institutions worldwide. Its adoption is intended to streamline manuscript submission, management of reviewers, editorial decision-making, and communication during peer review. Reviewer selection remains one of the most demanding parts of journal management. Tools linked to the Web of Science ecosystem, such as Reviewer Locator, can assist editors in identifying potential reviewers by considering the information such as: publications in a particular area, citations, affiliation, and conflict-of-interest. These tools do not replace editorial judgment, but they can support more informed and efficient reviewer identification.
The pharmaceutical sciences continue to evolve in response to changing healthcare needs, technological advances, and regulatory expectations. Areas such as drug delivery, theranostics, AI/ML in drug development, pharmaceutical analysis, biologics, clinical pharmacy, pharmacovigilance, natural products, and translational therapeutics remain active and relevant fields of inquiry. Journals have an ongoing responsibility to evaluate and disseminate sound research that contributes meaningfully to these areas. JAPS remains committed to serving as one such platform.
The journal’s progress has always been a collective effort. We take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported JAPS over the years. Authors have entrusted the journal with their research findings. Reviewers have contributed time and expertise to uphold standards. Editors and board members have helped shape policy and direction. Readers have provided the engagement and visibility that sustain scholarly relevance.
From June 2026, JAPS begins this new phase with a clear sense of continuity and responsibility. We look forward to working with our contributors and readers in this next stage of the journal’s development.
Footnotes
Disclosure
Grammarly was used only for language polishing. It was not used to generate content, arguments, references, or interpretations. The author(s) reviewed and approved the final text.