ISMPP Highlights
ISMPP Member Publications and Presentations
ISMPP is pleased to share these recent publications and presentations by Society members. We encourage members to publish and present research and information related to publishing practices to advance the medical publications profession, and improve standards and best practices…
Asia Pacific Meeting of ISMPP: An Important Regional Achievement
The second Asia Pacific Meeting of ISMPP, held September 5, 2017, in Tokyo, Japan, was attended by over 125 individuals from 10 countries. Attendees represented a diverse group, including the pharmaceutical industry, medical communication companies, academia, journal editors/publishers, and government…
Educational Series on Data and Financial Transparency – A Project of the Global Transparency Committee
As reported in January 2017 in The MAP newsletter, one of the goals of the ISMPP Global Transparency Committee was to “develop an educational series designed to educate members and provide them with real-world resources to inform their worldwide approaches to data and financial transparency…”

Message from Our Leadership
Robert J. Matheis
ISMPP President and CEO
News and Trends
Embracing Change in Medical Publishing: The Open Pharma Project
Do pharmaceutical companies have a role in helping advance the publication of science? This was the question posed by Richard Smith, Former Editor of The BMJ and now Chairman for the Board of Directors of Patients Know Best, at an international meeting held at the Wellcome Trust in London earlier this year…
From Reviews to In-Silico Trials: An Overview of the Publication Landscape
In the current publication landscape, medical writers and other publication professionals need to distinguish and identify the key elements that go into the various types of reviews and analyses. This article will provide an overview of review articles, meta-analyses, and computer modeling, such as in-silico trials, and how they apply to the publication landscape…
Beware the Imposter: Predatory Conferences Lure the Unsuspecting
Predatory conferences are “for-profit, low-quality academic meetings that exploit researchers’ need to share and publish their research” (1) and have been variously described as “questionable” (2), “fraudulent, bogus” (3), “fake” (4), “scam” (5), “dubious” (6), “scientifically bankrupt” (7), and “the dark side of the open access movement” (8). Predatory conferences are…
What Would You Do?
In our role as medical publication professionals, we may occasionally encounter situations in which it is not obvious how to ensure good publication practice. Have you ever wished you could consult the ISMPP membership for guidance when these situations arise? Here’s your opportunity!
What Would You Do? is a section of The MAP that presents case scenarios as an educational tool for medical publication professionals. The section provides a case scenario to ponder, and readers are invited to participate in a poll by selecting one of the listed solutions. Readers can also submit their thoughts on the scenario anonymously. The poll results, plus educational insights, are posted in a later issue for readers to digest.
POLL RESULTS: Journal Editor Makes Substantial Changes on Page Proofs
You are a medical publication professional and have achieved acceptance of a manuscript into a top-tier journal after much discussion among authors and peer reviewers, resulting in several rewrites of the manuscript and its associated conclusions. You have now received page proofs for which comments need to be returned to the journal within 48 hours. The journal editor has made additional substantial changes…

ISMPP (pronounced IzMap) is the only nonprofit organization founded by medical publication professionals for medical publication professionals