<i>ChemMedChem</i> has reached…<i>The Big TEN!</i> (2014)

Hitting double figures!­ ChemMedChem has entered its 10th volume. In this Editorial, read about the journal's activities and find out more about the people behind it. Over the course of the year ahead, keep an eye out for more heavyhitting special issues, opinion pieces by ChemMedChem Board members, as well as Editor's Picks: articles deemed particularly notable, which will be free to access while the issue is current. Enjoy volume 10! 2015 marks the 10th volume of ChemMedChem. Launched in summer 2005 with the inaugural issue published in January 2006, the journal will celebrate its 10th anniversary at the beginning of 2016. These milestones will be marked by special issues, contributions and events, and we encourage all our readers to “watch this space”! In particular, our Editorial and International Advisory Board Members will be contributing Viewpoints, Concepts and Essays on hot topics in medicinal chemistry over the coming two volumes. These contributions will cover topics central to medicinal chemistry and drug discovery, such as the roles of kinetics and thermodynamics in drug discovery, the ongoing debate over cancer metabolism, the development of substance classes over time, and the potential future image and expectations of medicinal chemists down the road. Given the high caliber of our board members, we can expect these articles to be both informative and provocative. As a special feature, throughout volume 10, the Editor will select two articles from each issue that are of particular interest or relevance to the medicinal chemistry community. These articles will be denoted in the Table of Contents (ToC) with a special icon 1 and promoted through the journal’s homepage and social media sites, including Facebook (www.facebook.com/chemmedchem) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/chemmedchem). 1 Importantly, the articles will be free to read while the issue is current. We encourage readers to sign up for our eToC e-mail alerts to avoid overlooking the Editor’s Picks and other excellent contributions in each issue. In 2014, our editors attended a number of conferences, including the German Chemical Society (GDCh) Frontiers in Medicinal Chemistry (March 16–19, Tübingen, Germany), the 32nd Cyprus-Noordwijkerhout-Camerino Symposium (CNC), Trends in Drug Research (May 18–22, Limassol, Cyprus), the 50th International Conference on Medicinal Chemistry (July 2–4, 2014, Rouen, France), and the European Federation for Medicinal Chemistry XXIII International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry (EFMC–ISMC, 7–11 September, Lisbon, Portugal). ChemMedChem also had the proud task of printing the Book of Abstracts for the EFMC–ISMC 2014. The journal produced the EFMC–ISMC 2012 edition also, and both Books of Abstracts are available via the Special Features section of the journal′s homepage under Conferences; also featured there are all Conference Reports published to date in the journal. ChemMedChem sponsored prizes for the best posters at a number of conferences throughout 2014, including the CNC Symposium mentioned above, the European School of Medicinal Chemistry (ESMEC) held annually in Urbino, Italy, and the 2014 Metals in Medicine Gordon Research Conference (June 22–27, Andover, NH, USA). Congratulations to all of the prize winners from the CNC: Fabio Del Bello (University of Camerino, Italy), Despina Laimou (University of Patras, Greece), and Tahsin Kellici (Universities of Athens and Ioannina, Greece); winners from the ESMEC: Roberta Fazi (Università degli Studi di Siena, Italy) and Ricardo J. Ferreira (iMed.UL, University of Lisbon, Portugal); and winners from the GRC: Stacy Barnaby (Northwestern University, USA), Insiya Fidai (The Ohio State University, USA), Steve Po-Yam Li (University of Hong Kong), Martin Ross (The Ohio State University, USA), Kevin Siters (SUNY Buffalo, USA), and Lindsey van Gemeren (University of Birmingham, UK). Our Editors will be attending a number of conferences in 2015. Fixed in the diary of our Editor-in-Chief are the Frontiers in Medicinal Chemistry meeting in Marburg, Germany (March 15-18, 2015) organized by the GDCh, the German Pharmaceutical Society (DPhG) and the Swiss Chemical Society (SCS), and the 23rd National Meeting on Medicinal Chemistry (NMMC) in Fisciano (Salerno), Italy (September 6–9, 2015) organized by the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the Italian Chemical Society (SCI). Natalia also plans to attend the 10th AFMC International Medicinal Chemistry Symposium (AIMECS) in Jeju, South Korea (October 18–21, 2015) organized by the Asian Federation of Medicinal Chemistry (AFMC); the success of the 2013 AIMECS held in Taipei is highlighted in a special issue published by ChemMedChem in 2014 and in particular in the Editorial from Reuben Jih-Ru Hwu (National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan), the President of the AFMC, entitled “Scientific Excellence on the Island of Formosa”. In 2014, the journal published a number of excellent special issues on some of the hottest current topics in medicinal chemistry.1 International Advisory Board Member Prof. Antonello Mai (Sapienza University of Rome, Italy) was the Guest Editor of our special issue on Epigenetics & Drug Discovery (03/2014), which contained 24 contributions from leaders in the field, including a Concept on lysine deacylases (C. A. Olsen), a Review on bromodomains and their inhibitors (H. Weinmann et al.), and a Minireview on synthetic chromatin approaches to probe histone modifications (B. Fierz), among several other secondary publications. Primary research papers included a Communication on a molecular tool for precipitating lysine methyltransferase G9a by J. Jin and colleagues, and a Full paper by G. R. J. Thatcher and co-workers on a chimeric SERM–HDAC inhibitor approach to breast cancer therapy. The special issue on Metals in Medicine (06/2014) tied in nicely with the Metals in Medicine Gordon Research Conference Defining the Future of Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry, where the special issue Guest Editor and ChemMedChem International Advisory Board member Prof. Seth M. Cohen (University of California, San Diego, CA, USA) spoke on the future of metallopharmaceuticals. The special issue contained an excellent Editorial from Prof. Cohen that provides overarching context to the 28 articles included in the issue. Contributions covered a broad range of topics, highlighting the variety of research being conducted in the field of medicinal inorganic chemistry, from emerging avenues of investigation, such as molecular sensors for metal trafficking (S. J. Lippard et al.), bioinorganic carriers of imaging agents (R. P. Doyle, S. E. Lapi et al.), and combined ‘theranostic’ agents utilizing metal complexes (E. Alessio et al.), to more established fields including platinum-based anticancer agents, such as the cisplatin–cyclooxygenase inhibitor conjugates described by E. Hey-Hawkins and co-workers and the monofunctional platinum(II) complexes reported by N. Margiotta and colleagues. Finally, nucleic-acid-based drugs and drug targets were the theme of the special issue on DNA & RNA Medicinal Chemistry (09/2014), which, at 31 contributions, was one of our largest issues published. Not surprisingly, topics in epigenetics were well represented, with Reviews on long noncoding RNAs (A. Bhan and S. S. Mandal) and DNA–osmium complexes in the analysis of epigenetic modifications (A. Okamoto). Other contributions included aptamers as drug delivery vehicles (U. Hahn et al.), noncanonical DNA secondary structures as drug targets (B. Pagano et al.), and amikacin and tobramycin derivatives as potent antibacterials that bind rRNA (V. Nizet, Y. Tor et al.). The journal currently has a number of special issues planned for 2015. ChemMedChem International Advisory Board member Dr. Henning Steinhagen (Grünenthal GmbH, Germany) will be the Guest Editor for a special issue devoted to medicinal chemistry efforts in the fields of immunological and inflammatory diseases. Invitations have already been sent out to potential authors; if you have not received an invitation and would like to participate in this special issue, please contact the Editorial Office via e-mail: [email protected]. Another planned special issue will highlight excellent medicinal chemistry research in Italy, focusing on contributions from presenters at the 2015 NMMC in Salerno. Given that ChemMedChem succeeded Il Farmaco, a journal of the Italian Chemical Society, it is fitting that an issue in the 10th anniversary volume will be dedicated to this important meeting within the Italian medicinal chemistry community. Visit the Special Issues section of the journal′s homepage to browse all previously published special issues. Open innovation has been gaining momentum and, not surprisingly, has been the focus of much recent attention. The Full Paper by L. Ballell et al., “Fueling Open-Source Drug Discovery: 177 Small-Molecule Leads against Tuberculosis”, was the most cited paper of 2013 (Table 1), and is among the most frequently accessed articles from the past year (Table 2). In addition to the clear importance of the target disease, this work was particularly well received, as it exemplifies a more accessible approach toward information sharing from private-sector research. The authors′ effort was undertaken to reverse the effects of limitations in R&D capacity, funding, and lack of sufficient commercial interest, especially on tuberculosis and other neglected diseases. First Author Title Times Cited[b] Type[c] Reference[d] DOI[e] L. Ballell Fueling Open-Source Drug Discovery: 177 Small-Molecule Leads against Tuberculosis 30 F 8(2) 313 10.1002/cmdc.201200428 P. M. Moyle Modern Subunit Vaccines: Development, Components, and Research Opportunities 17 R 8(3) 360 10.1002/cmdc.201200487 S. J. Park N-Cyano Sulfoximines: COX Inhibition, Anticancer Activity, Cellular Toxicity, and Mutagenicity 15 C 8(2) 217 10.1002/cmdc.201200403 J. Šimeček How is Ga-68 Labeling of Macrocyclic Chelators Influenced by Metal Ion Contaminants in Ge-68/Ga-68 Generator Eluates? 15 F 8(1) 95 10.1002/cmdc.201200471 C. A. Coburn Discovery of MK-8742: An HCV NS5A Inhibitor with Broad Geno-type Activity 12 F 8(12) 1930 10.1002/cmdc.201300343 S. Peukert Discovery of NVP-LEQ506, a Second-Generation Inhibitor of Smoothened 11 C 8(8) 1261 10.1002/cmdc.201300217 V. Baeriswyl Polycyclic Peptide Therapeutics 10 M 8(3) 377 10.1002/cmdc.201200513 Y. Li Thiadiazole—a Promising Structure in Medicinal Chemistry 10 M 8(1) 27 10.1002/cmdc.201200355 A. Kastl Rhenium Complexes with Visible-Light-Induced Anticancer Activity 9 C 8(6) 924 10.1002/cmdc.201300060 J. W. Hinds C3′/C4′-Stereochemical Effects of Digitoxigenin α-L-/α-D-Glyco-side in Cancer Cytotoxicity 9 C 8(1) 63 10.1002/cmdc.201200465 Looking at other heavily cited 2013 papers, it′s clear that a wide variety of topics are the focus of significant attention (Table 1): cutting-edge techniques in radiopharmaceuticals, antivirals, subunit vaccines, and anticancer agents. As Table 2 shows, a similarly broad scope of topics is represented by the most accessed papers of 2014. This list reveals another trend we like to see: a healthy mixture of recent publications along with those published a few years back; given the new drug target potentials in the hedgehog signaling pathway, it′s no surprise to see the 2010 Review by Peukert and Miller-Moslin in Table 2, and the more recent Communication about a new Smoothened inhibitor by Peukert et al. in Table 1. First Author Title Type[a] Reference[b] DOI[c] T. Narumi Low-Molecular-Weight CXCR4 Ligands with Variable Spacers F 2013, 8(1), 118 10.1002/cmdc.201200390 L. Ballell Fueling Open-Source Drug Discovery: 177 Small-Molecule Leads against Tuberculosis F 2013, 8(2), 313 10.1002/cmdc.201200428 S. Peukert Small-Molecule Inhibitors of the Hedgehog Signaling Pathway as Cancer Therapeutics R 2010, 5(4), 500 10.1002/cmdc.201000011 Z. Pan Discovery of Selective Irreversible Inhibitors for Bruton′s Tyrosine Kinase C 2007, 2(1), 58 10.1002/cmdc.200600221 F. Kratz Prodrug Strategies in Anticancer Chemotherapy R 2008, 3(1), 20 10.1002/cmdc.200700159 C. Ballatore Carboxylic Acid (Bio)Isosteres in Drug Design M 2013, 8(3), 385 10.1002/cmdc.201200585 Y. Li Thiadiazole—a Promising Structure in Medicinal Chemistry M 2013, 8(1), 27 10.1002/cmdc.201200355 D. Gallenkamp Bromodomains and Their Pharmacological Inhibitors R 2014, 9(3), 438 10.1002/cmdc.201300434 M. Morgenthaler Predicting and Tuning Physicochemical Properties in Lead Optimization: Amine Basicities R 2007, 2(8), 1100 10.1002/cmdc.200700059 T. W. Bell Drugs for Hepatitis C: Unlocking a New Mechanism of Action H 2010, 5(10), 1663 10.1002/cmdc.201000334 In February 2014, ChemMedChem together with its sister journals changed its online submission system from manuscriptXpress to Editorial Manager (www.editorialmanager.com/cmdc). Editorial Manager is a much more advanced platform that offers all users increased functionality and flexibility. This change brought with it some adjustments for authors, reviewers and editors alike, and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding as we all adjusted to the new system together. In 2014, two major innovations were launched: Wiley’s Anywhere Article—an enhanced HTML format that allows the article content to be appropriately adjusted automatically for an optimal viewing experience on any device, from a desktop computer to a smartphone, and the ChemMedChem­ app for iPads, iPod Touch, and iPhones. The app’s design and the article format it employs offers improved readability and usability on small screens over PDFs typeset for A4. The app is free to download, and mobile access to the journal comes at no extra cost to subscribers and library patrons. In 2015, the app will be released for Android devices, making mobile access to our top content an option for even more of our readers. While reserving the true number crunching until issue 01/2016 where we will have a complete dataset from 10 volumes to analyze, there are a few numbers that may be of interest to our readers. Thanks to very well received special issues, ChemMedChem­ published 40 % more articles in 2014 than in the previous year, and submissions to the journal grew similarly. Despite this huge influx of manuscripts, decision times continue to be around 20 days from receipt of the manuscript to first decision. Publication times continue to be rapid, with the average article taking just over two months from initial submission to online publication—given their brevity, Communications are typically around 15 days faster than this average. The Editorial Team is continually looking for ways in which to shorten these times further without compromising the quality. No doubt Editorial Manager, our new submission system, will facilitate matters. All readers are encouraged to celebrate volume 10 and our 10th anniversary with us over the coming year or two, and of course, we look forward to receiving your next excellent manuscript at ChemMedChem! 1 Dr. Scott D. Williams Senior Associate Editor ChemMedChem 1 Dr. Natalia Ortúzar Editor-in-Chief ChemMedChem ChemMedChem is run by a dedicated Editorial Team (Figure 1), led since 2011 by Natalia Ortúzar, and supported by a committed Editorial Board (EB), chaired by Professors Giorgio Tarzia and Rainer Metternich (Figure 2). The ChemMedChem Editorial Team pictured outside the Wiley-VCH office in Weinheim, Germany. From left: Dr. Scott D. Williams (Senior Associate Editor), Dr. Saskia Neubacher (Associate Editor), Jean-Pierre Parks (Editorial Assistant), Stefanie Labonte (Production Manager), Luisa Prieto (Secretary), Lisa Abel (Managing Editor), Dr. Natalia Ortúzar (Editor-in-Chief). Not pictured: David P. Peralta (Assistant Editor), Tatiana Zimmermann (Editorial Assistant). Editor-in-Chief Natalia Ortúzar obtained her PhD in medicinal chemistry from the University of London, School of Pharmacy in the research group of Professor Mark Searcey and Professor Laurence out research with Professor at the University of in has been with ChemMedChem since Senior Associate Editor Scott Williams and at the University of California, San In PhD in chemistry at the University of USA) in Professor research a few years in private-sector R&D with in and ChemMedChem for its 2005 and has been with the journal since Other Saskia Neubacher (Associate and David Peralta (Assistant have ChemMedChem and our sister Editor Lisa Abel on to of cover Luisa Prieto is the journal and is the first of contact for Jean-Pierre Parks and Tatiana Zimmermann are our for the of a format to Finally, our Manager Stefanie Labonte the journal is published on and to the high of ChemMedChem. the Editorial Team that the journal to and work to the and The Editorial Team is supported by a dedicated Editorial Board and an International Advisory Board Members of both are and of the journal without the success would not have been The in particular, pictured in 2, are in the and development of ChemMedChem. Natalia and Scott are in contact with all of the and their to the journal be The ChemMedChem Editorial From Rainer Metternich Germany), Giorgio Tarzia (University of Urbino, Italy), A. (University of California, USA), of Italy), (University of Siena, Italy), J. Research From Marburg, Germany), Martin of Chemistry, of for David A. The is chaired by two of the medicinal chemistry community. Rainer Metternich is a Senior Research and has held at of the largest including and at of several and research in drug within Giorgio Tarzia is an Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the degli Studi di and was the Editor-in-Chief of Il research several to and the design of that are to of In addition to the two the is of 12 members, and like Professors Metternich and of the have been with the journal since it and are and of the medicinal chemistry community. is currently a Professor of Pharmaceutical at the of Pharmaceutical at the research are on the of and their with a particular focus on anticancer and agents. A. has had a long and an Professor at the University of California, research and most recent contributions the design of to or and such as and is a more recent member of the has a of in research and as a of the journal. is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the of and her research in and the design of agents, and in particular those that target the is a Full Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the degli Studi di and of the Research in current research the and of including and anticancer agents. J. is currently of Discovery Chemistry at Research USA) and several on new as well as including the has led that have for the of and was the of in and is currently the President and In 2012 the and for New in Drug Discovery to long list of is a in the of cutting-edge techniques to drug and is a Full Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Marburg, Germany. The focus of research is toward of drug including from chemistry, and to and development for the of of the of with Martin is currently of Design and Chemical at F. in particular in and of drug more than 15 has been at the medicinal chemistry and its and has experience in is a R&D and has held at including and Over the course of has been in drug and development for a range of including has been both the Medicinal Chemistry Division of the and the President of the of Chemistry, of is a Professor in the State of is in the field of molecular and drug current research focus on understanding small their targets through a approach molecular and is the of the for in the the Division of and within the the Chemistry and the research in the development of imaging David A. is a Professor at the and Research in research in the of to the of and more in the design of and small to