The Journal of Medicinal Chemistry welcomes high-quality contributions that advance the understanding of drug discovery, molecular design, pharmacological evaluation, and related areas. To ensure a smooth and transparent submission experience, we have outlined a clear process for authors from initial preparation to final acceptance.

1. Preparing Your Manuscript

Before submission, authors are encouraged to carefully review the Instructions for Authors page to ensure compliance with formatting, style, and ethical guidelines. Key points include:

• Organizing the manuscript into standard sections (Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, References, and Supplementary Information, if applicable).
• Preparing figures, tables, and chemical structures with high resolution and proper labeling.
• Ensuring citations follow the journal’s reference style consistently.
• Including a cover letter that highlights the novelty, significance, and potential impact of the work.

2. Online Submission System

• Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the journal’s online submission portal.
• The corresponding author must create an account, complete the required metadata (title, abstract, keywords, author details, affiliations, and funding information), and upload all files.
• The system accepts main manuscripts in Word or LaTeX format, figures in JPEG, TIFF, or PNG, and supplementary files in standard formats (Excel, PDF, etc.).

3. Initial Editorial Screening

Once submitted, the editorial office performs a preliminary check for:

• Compliance with journal formatting and ethical requirements.
• Completeness of submission (cover letter, ethical approvals, conflict of interest statements, funding disclosures).
• Basic scientific soundness and relevance to the scope of medicinal chemistry.
  Submissions that do not meet these minimum standards may be returned to authors for correction before peer review.

4. Peer Review Assignment

• Manuscripts passing initial screening are assigned to an Associate Editor with expertise in the subject matter.
• The editor invites at least two independent reviewers through a double-blind review process.
• Reviewers are expected to evaluate originality, scientific validity, methodological rigor, and clarity of presentation.

5. Decision and Revisions

Based on reviewers’ reports, the editor will provide one of the following decisions:

• Accept without revision – rare, for exceptionally strong manuscripts.
• Minor revision – requiring limited improvements in clarity, formatting, or data presentation.
• Major revision – requiring substantial additional analysis, experiments, or reorganization.
• Reject – for manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s standards or scope.

Authors receiving revision requests are encouraged to:

• Submit a revised version within the specified deadline.
• Provide a detailed response letter addressing each reviewer comment point-by-point.

6. Final Acceptance and Proofs

• After successful revisions, the manuscript undergoes a final quality check for grammar, formatting, and compliance with journal style.
• Accepted manuscripts are copyedited and typeset by the production team.
• Authors receive page proofs to check for typographical or factual errors before final publication.

7. Publication and Open Access

• Once finalized, articles are published online under the open access model, ensuring free and permanent availability to the global scientific community.

8. Post-Publication Updates

The journal encourages post-publication engagement through article metrics, reader comments, and citation tracking. In case of any errors, corrigenda or retractions are published promptly to preserve the integrity of the scientific record.