KEY TAKEAWAYS

• 2022 update to the important guidance document for company-sponsored publications features extensive input from publication professionals.
• Greater inclusivity is a key feature of the updated guidelines, with information on the role of patients in publications now included.

The Good Publication Practice 2022 (GPP 2022) guidelines were unveiled on 30 August, with the fourth iteration of the guidance on company-sponsored biomedical research published in Annals of Internal Medicine. A peer reviewed manuscript presenting the main principles of the guidance, and its detailed supplement, are freely available and can be found here.

The purpose of GPP – previously updated in 2015 – is to lay out the principles for ethical publication of industry-sponsored biomedical research. New topics covered in the 2022 edition include:

• the role of patients as authors or contributors to publications, publication policies, and procedures
• use of social media for posting about peer reviewed publications
• enhanced content such as plain language summaries, video, audio, or infographics.

The development of GPP 2022 was overseen by the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP), with representation from industry, medical communications agencies, publishers, and academics. The guidance underwent a substantial expert and volunteer review ahead of the journal peer review process, with more than 500 people providing feedback during its development.

The authors hope the latest refinements included in GPP 2022 will help anyone developing biomedical publications to follow ethical and transparent publication practices more easily.

The authors hope the latest refinements included in GPP 2022 will help anyone developing biomedical publications to follow ethical and transparent publication practices more easily.

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