Celebrating the Drug Annotation Series and the Importance of Publishing

Abstract

As I conclude my fifth year as Associate Editor of the Drug Annotation Series for the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, I remain deeply inspired by the remarkable work we do as medicinal chemists and drug hunters. The profound positive impact we have on society is a testament to our collective expertise, creativity, and relentless dedication to developing the best medicines possible. This Special Collection celebrates the Drug Annotation Series recognizing the invaluable contributions of medicinal chemists and drug discovery scientists around the globe. As you immerse yourself in this Special Collection, absorbing the science shared and gaining insights from others, I invite you to also reflect on your personal choices regarding what, when, and how to publish your scientific findings and accomplishments. Publishing research findings serves many important purposes, but one of the most impactful is accelerating scientific progress. Drug discovery is not the work of a lone scientist tinkering in a lab─it requires the collaboration of dedicated teams, from researchers and developers to clinical trial participants. By sharing discoveries, we enable scientists to build on each other’s work, refine theories, and avoid repeating ineffective approaches. This leads to faster innovation, which is crucial because patients are waiting─and counting on us. Writing is learning. Often it is not until you put pen to paper, that you realize gaps in logic, a missing reference, or critical connections. It pushes you to think deeper as you expose yourself to reviewers and readers. Managers have a responsibility to mentor their employees in crafting compelling manuscripts. Allocating dedicated time for this task is essential, ensuring it becomes part of annual goals and work hours, rather than being relegated to evenings and weekends, where it may be overlooked amid the challenges of work–life balance. In the pharmaceutical industry, competition to develop the best and first-in-class agents is intense, putting sharing at odds with competitive advantage. Company cultures around publication practices vary significantly. Some organizations take risks, sharing key advancements early to establish scientific leadership and claim high-impact contributions to the field. Others adopt a cautious approach, waiting longer to protect vital findings and discoveries, particularly Structure–Activity Relationship (SAR) insights, which are crucial for advancing best-in-class compounds. Of course, patents must be considered. Balancing the protection of intellectual property with the need to share groundbreaking discoveries is essential to driving innovation. All countries require an invention to be novel, so public disclosure can prevent you from obtaining a patent. In the U.S., there is a one-year grace period, but many countries require absolute novelty, meaning any public disclosure can jeopardize patentability. Thus, filing before publishing ensures preservation of international rights. It’s best to file a provisional or non-provisional patent application before making your invention public. Additionally, publishing research is not only a duty and service but also a key driver of academic and professional success. Publications are a crucial measure of a researcher’s contributions and play a significant role in career progression. Consistently sharing findings highlights expertise and can enhance the reputation of both scholars and institutions, attracting more funding and talent, and creating new opportunities. Publication volume, impact, and citation metrics often influence tenure decisions, hiring and advancement. As a result, the “publish or perish” mentality has become deeply ingrained in academic and company culture, driving researchers to continuously produce and disseminate their work. Furthermore, for ethical and transparency reasons, the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 (specifically Section 801) mandates that companies post their clinical trial results on clinicaltrials.gov within one year of trial completion. Given this, it is both smart and practical for companies to proactively publish their preclinical discoveries well in advance of this regulated requirement. Even with these challenges, it is unfortunate when companies (or individuals) fail to prioritize publishing. This oversight places employees at a disadvantage, particularly if they face layoffs or shutdowns that leave them without documented evidence of accomplishments when they compete for new roles. Additionally, once employees leave, there is often no one left to document the work, and valuable scientific insights are lost. Once again, it is crucial for companies and managers to prioritize publishing by ensuring employees have the time and resources to write manuscripts as part of their regular workload─not as after-hours tasks. Herein, we highlight 20 previously published manuscripts selected from the past five years. Our selection displays the diversity of thought, research, and global scientific representation. These manuscripts cover a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas, including oncology, immunology, neurodegeneration, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Notably, a handful of these have received regulatory approval to launch. These stories encompass a range of biological targets, including kinases, transcription factors, GTPases, nuclear receptors, phosphodiesterases, polymerases, hydrolases, and others. They span a variety of modalities including inhibitors, agonists, degraders, and protein–protein interaction disruptors. These works were accomplished at large and mid-pharma companies, smaller biotech firms, and academic institutions. They represent work across three continents─North America, Europe, and Asia. This diverse collection underscores the innovation, collaboration, and scientific excellence consistently published in this series. For future authors, a successful submission to the Drug Annotation Series should provide a comprehensive narrative of a program journey from its inception through to clinical candidate selection. The manuscript should include detailed information on target selection, hit identification, SARs (including target potency, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics), pharmacology, and ideally, safety data. For compounds in early clinical development, human pharmacokinetic (PK) and initial clinical efficacy data are desirable but not mandatory for acceptance. Additionally, authors should describe the programs objectives and the potential benefit to patients (e.g., first-in-class, best-in-class, or improvements over prior compounds). Please note that it is acceptable for elements of the story to have been previously published, as the goal of Drug Annotations is to present the complete story in one cohesive submission. For additional submission information, please refer to the Author Guidelines. At the journal, we extend our sincere gratitude to the many researchers who choose the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry to share their groundbreaking work. We are also deeply indebted to the many reviewers who dedicate their time to evaluating manuscripts, maintaining high standards, and contributing to the scientific community through their invaluable service. This article has not yet been cited by other publications.