Peer review at TPCT
All manuscripts submitted to Therapeutics, Pharmacology and Clinical Toxicology (TPCT) are assessed by external experts before a decision is taken. TPCT uses single-anonymised peer review: reviewers know the identity of the authors, while reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors. Editorials commissioned by the editors and letters to the editor are assessed by the editors and, where the editors judge it necessary, by an external reviewer; all other article types (original research, reviews, case reports, short communications) undergo full external review by at least two independent reviewers.
Step 1 — Editorial screening (target: 5 working days)
On receipt, the editorial office checks completeness, formatting and ethics documents (approval numbers, consent, trial registration) and screens the manuscript for text similarity with published work. The Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor then assesses fit with the journal’s scope, originality and scientific soundness. Manuscripts that are out of scope, that lack the required ethics documentation, or that are unlikely to pass review are rejected at this stage with a short explanation.
Step 2 — External review (target: 3 weeks)
The handling editor invites at least two independent reviewers with expertise in the subject, selected from the journal’s reviewer database, the editorial board and the published literature. Reviewers must have no conflict of interest with the authors (same institution, recent co-authorship, financial or personal ties) and must declare any potential conflict before accepting. Reviewers are asked to return their report within two weeks. They assess the scientific validity, methodology, statistical analysis, ethics, originality, clarity and relevance of the work and recommend acceptance, minor revision, major revision or rejection. Authors may suggest up to three potential reviewers and may ask that specific individuals be excluded; the editors are not bound by these suggestions.
Step 3 — Decision
The handling editor weighs the reviews and takes a decision, which is communicated to the corresponding author together with the anonymised reviewer reports. When the reviewers disagree substantially, a third reviewer or an editorial board member is consulted. The Editor-in-Chief has final responsibility for all editorial decisions, including those on special issues and society-sponsored content. Acceptance is never guaranteed, including for invited articles.
Step 4 — Revision
Authors are given four weeks for minor and eight weeks for major revisions and must submit a point-by-point response. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers. A manuscript that has undergone major revision is not accepted until at least one reviewer or the handling editor confirms that the concerns have been addressed.
Step 5 — Acceptance and publication
Accepted manuscripts are copy-edited, typeset and sent to the corresponding author for proof correction; only errors may be corrected at proof stage. The article is published online with its DOI and assigned to the current issue.
Manuscripts by editors and board members
Submissions authored by the Editor-in-Chief, editors or editorial board members are handled by a different editor who has no conflict of interest, using the same process. The authors concerned have no access to the review of their manuscript, and the journal keeps the share of such articles below 25 % of the research content in any issue. Such articles carry a published statement of the handling arrangement, for example: “[Name] is [role] at TPCT and had no involvement in reviewer selection or the editorial decision; the manuscript was handled independently by [name, affiliation].”
Special issues, supplements and sponsorship
Special issues are proposed to and approved by the Editor-in-Chief, who checks the credentials of guest editors and remains responsible for the content. Special-issue articles undergo the same external review as regular articles, are clearly labelled, and papers submitted by the guest editors themselves are handled by an independent editor and make up no more than 25 % of the issue. Sponsored supplements are subject to the same peer review as regular content, identify the sponsor on every page, and the sponsor has no role in the selection of content.
Confidentiality
Manuscripts under review are confidential documents. Reviewers may not share them, use their content or contact the authors, and may not upload any part of a manuscript to a generative artificial-intelligence tool.
Timelines and appeals
The journal aims at a first decision within four weeks of submission and publication within eight weeks of acceptance. Authors who believe a decision was based on a factual or procedural error may appeal in writing to the Editor-in-Chief (see Complaints and appeals on the Editorial Policies page).