The Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 2008

As the year comes to an end, it is my great pleasure to reflect upon and comment on the activities of the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology in 2008. This past year has been an exciting, rewarding and challenging year and one in which the direction of the JPP has once again encompassed the strategies and targets that were defined by the Editor, the Editorial Board and the Pharmaceutical Press at the Editorial board meeting in 2008. As in previous years, I would like to formally recognise the continuing support and goodwill that has been extended towards the Journal by numerous members of the scientific community, particularly in terms of submissions and reviewing. May I extend my sincere gratitude to all those people who have supported the journal throughout the past year and have been instrumental in maintaining the excellent scientific standing of the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. The success of the JPP is due, in the large part, to the authors who submit their topical research and to those referees who unselfishly provide detailed and thought-provoking reports. Once again, I sincerely thank you. This year the Journal continued to receive and publish high quality manuscripts in four core scientific disciplines, namely Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, Biopharmaceutics and Drug Disposition, Drugs from Natural Sources and Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology. Both the diversity and quality of manuscripts published by the JPP has preserved its status as a major (high class) journal for the publication of all aspects of the Pharmaceutical and related Sciences. The scientific community welcomes the subject diversity offered by the JPP as it enables and facilitates the publication of inter-disciplinary research. Indeed the JPP actively encourages the publication of interdisciplinary manuscripts. Encouragingly the impact factor for the JPP reached an all-time high in 2008. This success of the journal may be attributed to a number of factors, including the selection of the JPP by the authors for the submission of their (high quality) manuscripts and the excellent standards of reviewing of submitted manuscripts by conscientious reviewers. These continue to be two key features of the Journal. I hope that both authors and referees feel part of the JPP community and have great pride in the ongoing evolution and (high) quality of the Journal. During 2008 the JPP continued to publish a range of different manuscript types, predominantly reviews, full papers and communications. While the publication of full papers and communications has been the historical strength of the JPP, the importance of invited reviews has substantially grown and this category of manuscript is now a key area of development within the JPP. I am delighted to report that the JPP has maintained its target of publishing at least one invited review per issue in 2008. It is hoped that the contribution of invited reviews will continue to grow within the JPP in 2009 and that the scientific community will view the JPP as an important source of topical review articles. I am additionally delighted to report that the JPP published a themed issue in 2008. As the readership will be aware, the themed issues encompass the publication of a series of invited original/review papers within a common research theme, which must be topical. The published papers are chosen to be of the highest research quality and are refereed in accordance with journal policy. The first themed issue was published in September 2005 and subsequent issues have been published in 2006 and 2007. The themed issue that was published in 2008 was entitled “Radiation biology – can new concepts achieve better treatment outcomes?” This issue contained pertinent and topical reviews that were based on the scientific presentations of several keynote speakers who attended the Association for Radiation Research Annual Meeting at The School of Pharmacy, Queen's University Belfast on 3rd–5th April 2007. This highly successful meeting brought together scientists from all over the world with a special interest in radiation biology and physics, with a view to understanding the effects of radiation at the cellular level and to discuss strategies for improving radiation-based therapies both on their own and in combination with other treatments. This special issue focused specifically on some of the key findings, bringing the readership up to date in this rapidly advancing area. The topics of the papers in the themed issue were of great interest both to those directly in the specific area and also to those who have a general interest in novel developments within the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacology. Indeed, I have been delighted to receive positive comments from readers of the JPP regarding the quality and scientific impact of this themed issue. At this stage I must acknowledge the excellent and invaluable contribution of Dr Tracy Robson, who was responsible for both the organisation and coordination of the issue. Furthermore, I am grateful for Tracy's ability to encourage these leading, international research groups to submit their reviews to the JPP. The readership of the Journal will be delighted to note that a themed issue has been planned for 2009, entitled Increasing solubility and bioavailability of drugs, with two key members of the Editorial Board (Professor Yvonne Perrie, University of Aston, UK and Professor Thomas Rades, University of Otago, New Zealand) taking responsibility for the organisation of the issue. As all authors and reviewers will be aware, the JPP currently operates an online submission, reviewing and publication of manuscripts using the Editorial Manager platform. Using this system, the typical time from submission to initial acceptance for publication in the JPP is usually less than 10 weeks. At this point I must thank both Mrs Grainne Caffrey and the Pharmaceutical Press for their efforts in maintaining the online aspects of the journal. I would also like to formally thank Mr David Hiroz who was employed to provide maternity cover for Grainne. David rose to the many challenges of the JPP with great endeavor and ensured the smooth running of the Journal over the period of Grainne's absence. Finally, as in previous years, I would like to extend my thanks to the Editorial Board for the provision of outstanding support and essential advice over the past year. The commitment of the Editorial Board is essential to the smooth running, success and development of the JPP. The forthcoming year will see an expansion of the membership of the Editorial Board to provide greater Editorial Board coverage of certain key disciplines and greater presence in targeted geographical regions. For those people who have decided to retire from the Editorial Board due to the pressures of other commitments, I would like to offer my sincere gratitude and hope that they feel pride in their contributions to the JPP. I would also like to acknowledge the support of Ms Lindsey Fountain, who was appointed to the position of Journals Publisher within the Pharmaceutical Press in 2008. Her experience, enthusiasm and willingness to assist in all matters concerning the JPP are greatly appreciated. In addition I would like to thank Ms Shahnaz Khan for her invaluable expertise regarding the processing of manuscripts that have been accepted for publication in the JPP. On a personal note, I especially wish to thank Mr Paul Weller from the Pharmaceutical Press. Paul's invaluable support and great friendship are once again sincerely appreciated and, indeed, the ongoing success of the JPP is due, in a large part, to his commitment to, and vision of the Journal. Furthermore, I would like to thank Mrs Grainne Caffrey for her friendship and her loyalty and dedication to, and hard work on behalf of the JPP. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers, contributors, referees and Board members a very happy new year. December 2008