Award-winning Medical Publishing Insights and Practices Initiative (MPIP) sets a new standard in publishing industry-sponsored studies

LONDON — July 26, 2010 — The Medical Publishing Insights and Practices Initiative (MPIP), a project co-sponsored by members of the pharmaceutical industry and the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP), will publish its Author Toolkit in the August issue of Current Medical Research & Opinion (CMRO), an Informa Healthcare title. The guidelines, entitled “Authors’ Submission Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Getting Your Research Published”, mark a major step in industry and biomedical journal collaboration to raise standards and increase efficiency in publishing industry-sponsored studies.

The toolkit summarizes tips and best practices to increase awareness of editorial requirements, journal selection, submission processes, publication ethics, peer review, and effective communication with editors. The toolkit will assist new authors navigating the manuscript preparation and submissionprocess and will also help refresh the practices of experienced publication professionals.

“The MPIP recognized CMRO’s — as well as Informa Healthcare’s – long-standing commitment to advancing publication ethics in the pharmaceutical industry. This is why we were chosen to publish the author toolkit,” explained Jay Magrann, publisher of CMRO. In 2003, CMRO published the original Good Publication Practice (GPP) guidelines that quickly established a common standard for the publication of sponsored research. In 2009, the journal was the first to introduce a formal Transparency Policy, requiring full disclosures of contributors, reviewers and editorial staff.

The toolkit is the first tactical output of the Medical Publishing Insights and Practices Initiative (MPIP). MPIP was initiated in 2008 as a joint effort by authors, pharmaceutical companies and ISMPP, the largest medical publication professional society. The initiative was recently awarded the Trust and Reputation Award by Communiqué, a PM Group title aimed at healthcare communication professionals.

“Through my involvement, I have seen encouraging and tangible outcomes from the MPIP’s efforts, including the growth of much-needed dialogue between journals and pharmaceutical industry representatives regarding key issues in medical publication practices and the identification and pursuit of promising solutions to real-world problems,” observed Magrann. “The efforts of the MPIP demonstrate how biopharma, journals and authors can collaborate to improve the dissemination of key clinical trial data that, in turn, will lead to the provision of improved care by clinicians and to better health for patients around the world.”

The toolkit is currently available to download on CMRO’s website, www.cmrojournal.com

For more information on Informa Healthcare, the publisher of CMRO, visit: www.informahealthcare.com

About Current Medical Research & Opinion (CMRO)

CMRO is a MEDLINE-indexed, peer-reviewed, international journal for the rapid publication of original research on new and existing drugs and therapies, Phase II-IV studies, and post-marketing investigations. Its mission is to provide ethical, unbiased and rapid publication of quality content that is validated by rigorous peer review and serves the information needs of the clinical medicine community. As a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the journal takes an active role in supporting Good Publication Practice and advancing transparency in publication.

For more information, visit www.cmrojournal.com

About Informa Healthcare

Informa Healthcare provides authoritative research and analysis for all sectors of the Life Science, Medicine and Pharmaceutical sectors to better serve the commercial and academic needs within the scientific and clinical communities. Informa Healthcare is a division of Informa plc (London: INF). Informa has more than 150 offices in 40 countries and employs 7,500 staff around the world. Informa Healthcare is headquartered in London with offices in New York, Melbourne, Singapore and Stockholm. For more information, visit www.informahealthcare.com