Publication Planning and Strategy
Pubrica develops and manages publication plans for sponsors of clinical research programmes, aligned with GPP 2022 and ICMJE authorship criteria. GPP 2022 recommends a documented plan, ideally in place before or at study start, stating what will be published, where and when. Our publication planners build that plan, sequence each output against data availability and congress calendars, apply authorship criteria at the start and maintain the plan throughout the programme.
- Plan written before the data, where possible, which demonstrates intent to publish regardless of the results
- Every output committed, including negative results, in line with the transparency principles of GPP 2022
- Sequenced against data availability and congress calendars, so that the primary publication appears before the secondary analyses that depend on it
- Authorship decided against ICMJE criteria at the start, rather than negotiated at submission
- Tracked and kept up to date throughout the programme, so your team can rely on it as a working document
Plan documented to GPP 2022Included
Sequencing and congress mappingIncluded
Authorship criteria applied upfrontIncluded
Tracking and maintenanceIncluded
Suppressing an unfavourable resultNot provided under any circumstances
Data → plan → sequenced → authored → published
- Built to GPP 2022
- Every output committed in advance
- ICMJE authorship applied at the start
- Sequenced against data and congresses
- Maintained throughout the programme
Deliverables
Four Components of Every Publication Plan
A publication plan records your commitment to publish. Its value depends on it being written before the results are known.
From the planThis distinction matters to a journal editor who asks why a secondary endpoint was published two years later in a different journal.
From the output listPublication plan covers the pivotal trial and supportive analyses.Study 301 (pivotal, positive): primary manuscript Q2. Study 204 (Phase II, did not meet primary endpoint): manuscript Q3, target journal identified, with the negative finding as the paper rather than buried in a pooled analysis.
From the sequencingPresenting a secondary analysis at a congress before the primary paper is submitted can create a prior-publication issue that journals raise. Careful sequencing avoids it.
From the authorship discussionMost authorship disputes arise from incomplete planning. Agreeing who will meet the four criteria while work is still being allocated avoids difficult disagreements later.
Samples are illustrative and anonymised. Hover over a sample to replay it.
Compliance and Standards
Publication Planning Standards: GPP 2022, ICMJE and COPE
Journals apply these published guidelines and may ask how your publication plan meets them.
GPP 2022 (good publication practice)
The 2022 update, replacing GPP3. It covers company-sponsored research, including translational, biomarker and real-world studies, and extends to preprints, plain language summaries and social media. Professional medical writing support is legitimate, provided it is disclosed.
ICMJE Recommendations (authorship and disclosure)
Four criteria, all of which an author must meet. Contributors who fall short are acknowledged. Employment by the sponsor neither qualifies nor disqualifies anyone.
COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)
Guidance on authorship disputes, redundant publication, undisclosed conflicts of interest and corrections, which journals apply when an integrity concern is raised.
Quality management (cert. H3CR9TCU20251212INDQM10N)
Certified quality management covering how each project is run, recorded and released.
Responsible Use of AI
Our Approach to AI Use in Publication Planning
Medical affairs work requires a clear distinction between scientific exchange and promotion, which regulators monitor. That judgement depends on context, jurisdiction and individual circumstances, so our specialists make it rather than an AI tool.
Why We Do Not Publish an AI Accuracy Figure
Accuracy figures for AI tools are usually reported by the companies that sell them.
Pubrica therefore does not quote a self-generated accuracy figure, as it would carry the same conflict of interest. Instead, we tell you which tool was used on your project, at which stage, and what a specialist changed afterwards.
Our Process
How Our Publication Planning Process Works
Planning begins with the data you will have and the decisions that others need to make with it.
Data and audience
We inventory studies, analyses and datasets against the decisions they support and identify the audience for each one.
Outputs and venues
We define each output with a target journal or congress, a rationale and a fallback option, including outputs that report unfavourable results.
Sequence and authorship
We build a timeline against data availability, congress deadlines and dependencies, and apply authorship criteria to each output at the start.
Run and maintain
We track the plan, revise it when data timelines change or a journal declines a submission, and keep it as a working document for your team.
Our Experts
Your Publication Planning Team
Your project is handled by a named team of subject specialists who stay with it from scoping to delivery. Your project coordinator introduces each team member before work begins.
Reviews the scientific content for accuracy and confirms that each conclusion is supported by the evidence. Each expert is matched to your field of research.
Writes the content against the brief and the applicable code of practice, with every claim traceable to its reference.
Reviews the content for scientific accuracy, fair balance and compliance with the applicable code before it reaches your internal review.
Manages the timeline, keeps you informed at each stage and coordinates the team so that questions are answered and deadlines are met.
Packages
Publication Planning Packages
Each package is quoted by scope, based on the number of studies and outputs and whether a plan is being built or recovered.
Publication plan
For a single study or a programme
Quoted per projectBased on study and output count
Delivery By scope
- ✓Data and audience inventory
- ✓Every output defined with venue and rationale
- ✓Negative and secondary results included
- ✓Sequencing against data and congresses
- ✓Authorship criteria applied per output
- ✓Built to GPP 2022
This plan is best commissioned before or at study start. A plan written later is still useful but serves a different purpose.
Deliverables Request a quotePlan management
Delivery of an agreed plan
Quoted per projectRetainer based on output volume
Delivery Ongoing
- ✓Plan tracked against timeline
- ✓Author and reviewer coordination
- ✓Journal and congress deadlines managed
- ✓Revisions when data or decisions move
- ✓Status reporting your team can use
- ✓Compliance record maintained
Ongoing management keeps the plan current and in use throughout the programme.
Deliverables Request a quoteProgramme audit
Review of an existing programme
Quoted per projectBased on programme size
Delivery By scope
- ✓Outputs mapped against studies conducted
- ✓Unpublished studies identified
- ✓Authorship practice checked against ICMJE
- ✓Disclosure practice checked against GPP 2022
- ✓Findings reported clearly
The audit identifies any studies that were completed but not published, so that you can address them internally.
Deliverables Request a quoteSend us your study list and we will map it against your published outputs at no cost. The gap between the two provides a clear starting point for your publication plan.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions About Publication Planning
If your question is not answered here, please ask an expert. No quote is required.
Yes, and GPP 2022 assumes it. Planning what will be published, where and when is good practice, and a documented plan is evidence of intent to publish regardless of outcome.
What is not acceptable is sponsor control of the conclusions, or a plan that includes only favourable results. The plan is a transparency document, not a filter.
Yes. GPP 2022 states that professional medical writing support is legitimate and common practice. The compliance requirement is to disclose that support.
The writer is named in the acknowledgements with the funding source stated. Ghostwriting, which is undisclosed writing support, is what the guidelines prohibit.
It still receives a publication route. This is the central case the guidelines address, and the plan should name a target journal for it in the same way as for a positive study.
We do not build plans that omit unfavourable studies. If that is a requirement, we will tell you at the outset that we cannot take on the work.
Before or at study start, in line with GPP 2022. That timing is what makes it a plan rather than a record.
Where studies are already complete, a plan is still valuable for sequencing and authorship. However, it serves as a programme management document rather than evidence of prior intent and should not be presented as such.
Related services
Related Publication and Communication Services
A publication plan defines the outputs. These related services support their governance and production.
1GOVERNANCEpolicies and committees
Steering committee and SOPsDecision rights and procedures. Scientific platformThe core scientific statements of the programme.2PUBLICATION OUTPUTSmanuscripts and extenders
Scientific writingManuscripts written to the plan. Publication extendersContent that extends a published paper.3CONGRESSES AND JOURNALSvenues
Congress and symposium contentAbstracts, posters and sessions. Journal selectionTarget and fallback journals for each output.Request a Free Review of Your Study List Against Published Outputs
Comparing the studies you have run with the papers you have published shows where your publication plan should start.