As mentioned in our highlights report from this year’s International Society for Medical Publications Professionals (ISMPP) meeting, there was a hint from David Sampson from the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) that a change might be coming with regards to the open access policies of their journals. When, in a follow-up to a panel discussion, an audience member asked why the Journal of Clinical Oncology (J Clin Oncol; Official Journal of ASCO) did not offer open access for industry-funded research, Sampson explained that there were some concerns over the possible re-use of content for commercial purposes, but that the policy was being reviewed.

In a recent MAP newsletter, ISMPP shared the news that ASCO has now extended open access options for all of its journals — including  J Clin Oncol, Journal of Oncology Practice, Journal of Global Oncology, JCO Clinical Care Informatics and JCO Precision Oncology. Until now, open access was only offered for publications of research funded by academic institutions, not-for-profit organisations, philanthropic foundations, and government agencies. This has now been expanded to include research funded by for-profit companies, which can now be published under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. This license allows free access and redistribution of the publication and non-commercial use with proper attribution, but does not permit derivative works or commercial uses.

The move is welcomed by open access advocates and it is hoped that other publishers will now follow suit.

What are your thoughts? Add your comments below.

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Summary by Alice Wareham PhD from Aspire Scientific

With thanks to our sponsors, Aspire Scientific and NetworkPharma.