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Call for papersPharmacology and drug development

Call for Papers: Natural Products in Pharmacology and Drug Development (ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science)

ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science’s special issue on natural products in pharmacology and drug development focuses on chemically characterised compounds of plant, marine, microbial or food origin with clear pharmacological activity, defined mechanisms, validated targets or translational potential. This guide sets out topic areas consistent with that scope, how to judge whether a manuscript fits, and how to prepare a submission for a translational pharmacology readership.

Pubrica InsightsEditorial team, reviewed by a subject specialist
Deadline
30 April 2027
Last checked
10 November 2026
Reading time
5 min
Sources
1
Submit through the official call

Key dates

Manuscript deadline
30 April 2027
Details last checked
10 November 2026
Open the official call

About the journal

Journal
ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Call type
Call for papers
Scope
Special issue on chemically characterised natural products of plant, marine, microbial or food origin with clear pharmacological activity, defined mechanisms, validated targets or translational potential.
Guest editors
Listed on the official collection page
Access and fees
Open access; an article processing charge normally applies on acceptance
Originality
Original work, not under review elsewhere; confirm on the official page

Topics consistent with the call

  • Mechanistic studies of chemically characterised plant-derived compounds and their molecular targets
  • Pharmacological evaluation of marine natural products with defined bioactivity
  • Microbial metabolites as leads for anti-infective or anticancer drug development
  • Target identification and validation for bioactive food-derived compounds
  • Pharmacokinetic, safety and formulation studies supporting translation of natural products
  • Preclinical models linking natural product chemistry to therapeutic efficacy

Based on the published scope; the full list of themes is on the official call page.

Is your work a fit? Check before you write

  1. The compounds or extracts studied are chemically characterised, with identity and purity documented.
  2. The work demonstrates clear pharmacological activity rather than screening data alone.
  3. Mechanisms, molecular targets or translational relevance are defined and supported by appropriate experiments.
  4. Controls, dose ranges and statistical analyses are reported in enough detail for others to reproduce the work.
  5. The manuscript is complete, approved by all co-authors and submitted before 30 April 2027, with article types confirmed on the official call page.

Why This Call Is a Priority Now

Natural products remain an important source of new chemical scaffolds and drug leads, but much published work stops at crude extracts or uncharacterised activity. Advances in analytical chemistry, target deconvolution and translational models now make it possible to connect defined compounds to specific mechanisms and therapeutic potential. A themed issue in a translational pharmacology journal gathers rigorous work of this kind in one place, sets expectations for chemical characterisation and mechanistic depth, and helps authors reach readers in drug discovery and clinical pharmacology.

Who Should Submit

Academic backgrounds

  • Pharmacology and toxicology
  • Natural product and medicinal chemistry
  • Pharmacognosy
  • Microbiology and marine biotechnology
  • Food science and nutrition biochemistry

Institutions and sectors

  • University pharmacy and pharmacology departments
  • Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
  • Research institutes for marine or plant sciences
  • Food and nutraceutical industry research groups

Article types commonly published in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science

  • See the journal’s article types

What the Editors Typically Value

  1. Identification and validation of a molecular target for a well-characterised natural compound.
  2. Mechanistic studies that explain how a defined natural product produces its pharmacological effect.
  3. Translational evidence, such as pharmacokinetics or in vivo efficacy, that moves a natural product closer to clinical use.
  4. Rigorous comparison of a natural product with established agents acting on the same pathway.

Paper Ideas You Could Develop

Target deconvolution of a marine metaboliteA study using chemoproteomic or genetic approaches to identify and validate the protein target of a purified marine compound with known bioactivity.
Pharmacokinetics of a food-derived polyphenolAn investigation of absorption, metabolism and tissue distribution of a characterised dietary compound, linked to its pharmacological activity in a relevant model.
Microbial metabolite as an antibacterial leadA paper describing isolation, structure confirmation, mechanism of action and in vivo efficacy of a microbial natural product against resistant pathogens.

Your Plan to the Deadline

A suggested schedule working back from 30 April 2027. Adjust it to the stage your work has reached.

  1. By 16 Mar 2027

    Open the official collection page and the ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science submission guidelines; confirm the scope, article types and guest editors.

  2. By 30 Mar 2027

    Write a one-paragraph statement of your research question, design and the contribution your paper makes to the collection.

  3. By 9 Apr 2027

    Complete the analysis and agree the key findings, figures and tables with your co-authors.

  4. By 20 Apr 2027

    Draft the full manuscript to the ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science article type and the relevant reporting guideline.

  5. By 25 Apr 2027

    Circulate the draft to co-authors and an independent reader; revise for clarity, accuracy and completeness.

  6. By 28 Apr 2027

    Complete final checks: formatting, references, declarations, data availability statement and cover letter.

  7. By 30 Apr 2027

    Submit through the journal’s online system, selecting the collection, after re-checking the official call page.

What you gain from publishing here

  • Publication in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science, reaching readers working on this topic.
  • A themed collection that groups your paper with related work.
  • Editorial and peer feedback that can strengthen the work, whatever the decision.
  • A peer-reviewed output for your CV, thesis or grant reporting.

What happens after you submit

  1. Submission: upload through the ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science online system and select the collection.
  2. Editorial screening: the editors check fit with the collection; papers outside its scope may be returned without review.
  3. Peer review: suitable papers are sent to reviewers under the journal’s review model.
  4. Revision and decision: respond to each reviewer comment and keep a record of the changes.
  5. Production: accepted papers move to proofs and open access publication, with the article processing charge set out by the publisher.

What the Collection Is Looking For

The special issue seeks studies of natural products that go beyond activity screening to show defined chemistry and clear pharmacology. Work should characterise the compounds studied, demonstrate their activity, and explain mechanisms, validate targets or establish translational potential. Plant, marine, microbial and food-derived products all fall within the stated scope. Authors should present reproducible methods and frame their findings for a readership interested in moving pharmacological discoveries towards therapeutic application.

Read the call itselfThis guide summarises the call. Open the official collection page before you plan a submission, and record the date you checked it and the guest editors listed.Open the official call

Expert help

How Pubrica Can Help With This Submission

Pubrica’s subject specialists can review, write, edit, format and prepare your manuscript for this call, planned back from the deadline. You remain the author of your work.

Pre-submission peer reviewAn expert review of the manuscript against the call and the journal’s requirements. Manuscript editingSubject-specialist editing for clarity, accuracy and consistency. Journal formattingFormatting of the manuscript, references, figures and tables to the journal’s guidelines. BiostatisticsStatistical analysis and review of results. Cover letterA cover letter that explains how the manuscript fits the call. Journal submissionPreparation of submission files and completion of the online submission.
Go to the official call

FAQs

Questions Authors Ask

The published deadline is 30 April 2027. Collections can close early or be extended, so confirm the date on the official call page before you plan your submission.

The guest editors are listed on the official collection page. Check their research interests, as they help to judge whether your manuscript fits the collection.

The stated scope emphasises chemically characterised natural products, so work on poorly defined extracts may be less likely to fit. Authors with extract-based studies should consider whether active constituents can be identified and quantified. Confirm the expectations on the official call page before submitting.

Check the journal’s fees and funding page before you submit.

Sources

  1. ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science. (2026). Natural Products in Pharmacology and Drug Development [Collection call for papers]. American Chemical Society. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://pubs.acs.org/aptsfn/article/9/10/2658/5431640/Call-for-Papers-Natural-Products-in-Pharmacology

How to cite this page

Pubrica Insights. (2026). Call for Papers: Natural Products in Pharmacology and Drug Development (ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science). Pubrica. https://pubrica.com/insights/calls-and-conferences/natural-products-in-pharmacology-and-drug-development/

  • Natural products
  • Pharmacology
  • Drug discovery
  • Target validation
  • Translational science

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Natural Products in Pharmacology and Drug Development (ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science)Deadline 30 April 2027

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