Preprints are beginning to arrive in biology, will medicine be next? – Open Pharma

"In September 2016, 1564 life science preprints were posted to eight of the largest preprint servers available to life scientists. This is a five-fold increase from September 2011, when only 300 preprints were posted, and only three of the platforms examined, if they existed at all at that point, hosted any life science preprints. The increase in submissions has prompted journal policy changes and attitude changes amongst funders and research institutions.

But what does this mean for medicine? Biomedical sciences still only constitute approximately 22% of preprints submitted to BioRxiv, genetics research accounting for almost half of this figure. Clinical trials in particular are rarely posted, and account for less than 1%. The restrictions placed upon medical researchers by journals have been a leading cause of this. Some prominent medical publishers still abide by conservative policies, for instance, the American Heart Association has stated in correspondence as recently as September 2016 that it will not review preprinted submissions. A similar policy was reported in communications from the American Association for Cancer research in November 2015.

Concerns also exist surrounding the sharing of medical research before peer review. This is understandable as poorly conducted research, particularly in medicine, can certainly be damaging. For this reason pharmaceutical companies, major funders of medical research, have been cautious of using preprint platforms. This is particularly true for clinical trial results, and stems from fears that sharing research publicly ahead of peer review could violate regulations regarding off-label or direct-to-consumer promotion.

The meeting concluded with the benefits of preprints seen so far, and encouraging wider uptake in all fields of the life sciences. It is clear in the figures presented that many significant shortcomings of journal publishing can be ameliorated through the hosting of preprints upon submission. Engagement with research is facilitated, with 10% of the preprints posted on BioRxiv receiving comments from other users on the site; 90% of submissions to the site are made publically available and all that pass the basic editorial check are shared in less than 24 hours from submission. Whether or not preprint platforms become widely adopted in biomedical research is yet to be seen, but they have great potential if author behaviour and funder attitudes continue on their present trajectory."