This week, we signpost the Open Pharma activities at the 2025 Annual Meeting of ISMPP and reflect on our workshop at the Researcher to Reader Conference in February. We also read about how journal editors can identify research misconduct, explore how to integrate patient perspectives into target product profiles, and learn about the importance of study preregistration for research integrity. Finally, we highlight the expedited timeline for the introduction of the NIH 2024 Public Access Policy and learn of the Crossref DOI Accessibility Enhancer.
To engage with:
Open Pharma at ISMPP Annual 2025 via LinkedIn
Open Pharma is getting ready for the 2025 Annual Meeting of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP). Taking place in Washington, DC, from 12 to 14 May, the meeting promises to gather “diverse professionals to inspire creativity, foster innovation, and advance medical communications”. Open Pharma will be facilitating two roundtables related to the meeting theme of Diversity and innovation: in concert and are delighted to be presenting two original research posters. Make sure to visit us alongside our colleagues from Oxford PharmaGenesis at booth 26. We look forward to seeing you there!
To read:
Recommendations from R2R: making research content readable via Open Pharma | 5-minute read
In today’s digital age, clear and reliable scientific information is essential for making informed decisions about our research, environment and health. The Open Pharma workshop More power to the reader: how can we improve research communication by making content more readable? at the 2025 Researcher to Reader Conference (R2R) sparked valuable discussions on enhancing the readability of research content. In this article, co-facilitators Laura Dormer (Co-founder and Editorial Director at Becaris Publishing) and Joana Osório (Communications Team Leader at Oxford PharmaGenesis) reflect on the workshop and explore the crucial question: how can we reach the readers?
An editor’s guide to identifying misconduct via Origin | 7-minute read
How can editors protect their journals from the threats posed by papermills and research misconduct? In this article, Adam Day (CEO and Founder of Clear Skies) reflects on his experience as a journal editor and research integrity service provider to outline his three ‘steps to success’ for editors faced with potentially fraudulent research. Adam explores the capabilities of his services Oversight and the Papermill Alarm, and he recommends getting to “know your author” with the support of metadata infrastructure such as the Open Researcher and Contributor iD (ORCID) and Crossref.
Patient perspectives are fundamental for effective target product profiles via Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science | 24-minute read
“As the experts on their own disease, patients bring invaluable perspectives to drug development, which cannot be obtained by other means,” begins this article by Jean-Noel Talabardon (Immunology Patient Engagement Director at Novartis) and colleagues. Recognizing the importance of patient engagement during drug development, the authors present a systematic guidance framework for the development of patient-focused, standardized target product profiles. Including case examples demonstrating how patient perspectives can be used to shape drug development, this article provides practical guidance for commercial pharma companies and healthcare researchers.
Enhance your research integrity through preregistration via Open Science Foundation | 43-minute read
What is preregistration? How can preregistration improve research integrity? Do journals support preregistration? Each of these questions and more are explored in this guide titled Preregistration essentials: enhancing transparency in research from the Center for Open Science. The resource provides guidance on how to report the results of preregistered research, which preregistration template is best suited to different research types, and how Open Practice Badges can be used to indicate transparent research conduct.
NIH expedites Public Access Policy via NIH | 1-minute read
The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that the 2024 Public Access Policy will now be effective from 1 July 2025 rather than the previously announced date of 31 December 2025. A statement released last week confirms that all other aspects of the policy and supplemental guidance will remain the same. More information about the rationale behind the move can be found in this Under the Poliscope post titled Transforming transparency through policy.
Crossref introduces DOI Accessibility Enhancer for screen readers via Crossref | 4-minute read
Open infrastructure provider Crossref has announced the launch of the digital object identifier (DOI) Accessibility Enhancer – a browser extension that prompts screen readers to convert DOI links to the title of the associated paper. The extension will not change the experience for those not using a screen reader but rather aims to fundamentally transform the experience of those who do. Crossref acknowledges that “this solution places the responsibility on the end user rather than on publishers and platform providers”, but explains that in doing so, they ensure “users can have a consistent browsing experience regardless of the platform they use to access scholarly content”.
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