Future Medicine Author Guidelines 

 

Contents 

 

Audience

 

Key formatting points 

 

Article types

 Reviews 

Perspectives 

 Special reports 

Primary research articles 

 Editorials 

 Priority paper evaluations 

 Conference scenes 

Company profiles 

Drug evaluations 

Clinical trial commentaries 

 

Manuscript preparation

Spacing & headings 

Spelling 

Abbreviations 

 

Article sections

Summary 

Keywords 

Future perspective 

Executive summary 

 

 

References

 Format 

 Examples 

 Reference annotations 

 

Figures

 Color printing charge 

Chemical structures 

 Electronic figure files 

 Copyright 

 

Tables/Boxes

Electronic files 

 Copyright 

 

Submission

Peer review 

Revision 

In-house production 

 

Journal policies

 Manuscript submission & processing 

Author disclosure & conflict of interest policy 

Ethical conduct of research 

Use of personal communications & unpublished data 

Clinical trial registration 

Errata/corrigenda 

Permissions for reproduced or adapted material 

Duplicate publication/submission & plagiarism 

Misconduct 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Future Medicine Ltd, Unitec House, 2 Albert Place, London, N3 1QB, UK 

T: +44 (0)20 8371 6090; F: +44 (0)20 8343 2313; www.futuremedicine.com 

 

Future Medicine Ltd is part of the Future Science Group www.future-science-group.com


Audience 

The audience for Future Medicine titles consists of clinicians, research scientists, decision-makers and 
a range of professionals in the healthcare community. Authors should bear in mind the 
multidisciplinary status of the readership when writing the article. 

 

Future Medicine articles have been engineered specifically for the time-constrained professional. The 
structure is designed to draw the reader’s attention directly to the information they require. 

Key formatting points 

Please ensure your paper concurs with the following article format: 

 

Title: concise, not more than 120 characters. 

 

Author(s) names & affiliations: including full name, address, phone & fax numbers and e-mail. 

 

Abstract/Summary: approximately 120 words. No references should be cited in the abstract. 

 

Keywords: approximately 5–10 keywords for the review. 

 

Body of the article: article content under relevant headings and subheadings. 

 

Conclusion: analysis of the data presented in the review. 

 

Future perspective: a speculative viewpoint on how the field will evolve in 5–10 years time. 

 

Executive summary: bulleted summary points that illustrate the main topics or conclusions made 
under each of the main headings of the article. 

 

References: 

For full details on formatting see References section above. 

• Should be numerically listed in the reference section in the order that they occur in the text. 
• Should appear as a number i.e., [1,2] in the text. 
• If websites or patents are included, please use a separate numbering system for them, i.e., 
start numbering website references at [101] and patents at [201] to allow the reader to 
distinguish between websites/patents and primary literature references both in the text and 
in the bibliography. 
• Any references that are cited in figures/tables/boxes that do not appear in the text should be 
listed at the end of the reference list in the order they occur. 
• Quote first six authors’ names. If there are more than six, then quote first three et al. 
• The Future Medicine Endnote style can be downloaded from our website at: 
www.futuremedicine.com/page/authors.jsp 


 

Reference annotations: please highlight 6–8 references that are of particular significance to the 
subject under review as “* of interest” or “** of considerable interest” and provide a brief (1–2 line) 
synopsis. 

 

Figures/Tables/Boxes: Summary figures/tables/boxes are very useful, and we encourage their use in 
reviews/perspectives/special reports. The author should include illustrations and tables to condense 
and illustrate the information they wish to convey. Commentary that augments an article and could 


be viewed as ‘stand-alone’ should be included in a separate box. An example would be a summary 
of a particular trial or trial series, a case study summary or a series of terms explained. 

 

If any of the figures or tables used in the manuscript requires permission from the original publisher, 
it is the author’s responsibility to obtain this. Figures must be in an editable format. 

Article types 

Reviews 

 

Reviews aim to highlight recent significant advances in research, ongoing challenges and unmet 
needs. Authors should strive for brevity and clarity. Each article should concentrate on the most 
recent developments in the field and should aim for concise presentation of relevant information. 

 

Word limit: 4000–8000 words (excluding Abstract, Executive Summary, References and Figure/Table 
legends) 

Required sections (for a more detailed description of these sections see Article sections): 

• Summary 
• Keywords 
• Future perspective 
• Executive summary 
• References 
• Reference annotations 
• Financial disclosure/Acknowledgements 


 

 

Perspectives 

 

Perspectives have the same basic structure and length as review articles, however they should be 
more speculative and very forward looking, even visionary. They offer the author the opportunity to 
present criticism or address controversy. Authors of perspectives are encouraged to be highly 
opinionated. The intention is very much that these articles should represent a personal perspective. 
Referees will be briefed to review these articles for quality and relevance of argument only. They will 
not necessarily be expected to agree with the authors’ sentiments. 

 

Word limit: 4000–8000 words (excluding Abstract, Executive Summary, References and Figure/Table 
legends) 

Required sections (for a more detailed description of these sections see Article sections): 

• Summary 
• Keywords 
• Future perspective 
• Executive summary 
• References 
• Reference annotations 
• Financial disclosure/Acknowledgements 


 

 

 

 

 

 


Special reports 

 

Special reports are short review-style articles that summarize a particular niche area, be it a specific 
technique or therapeutic method. 

 

Word limit: 1500–3000 words (excluding Abstract, Executive Summary, References and Figure/Table 
legends) 

Required sections (for a more detailed description of these sections see Article sections): 

• Summary 
• Keywords 
• Future perspective 
• Executive summary 
• References 
• Reference annotations 
• Financial disclosure/Acknowledgements 


 

 

Primary research articles 

 

Word limit: Not applicable 

Required sections (for a more detailed description of these sections see Article sections): 

• Structured abstract (broken down into Aims, Materials & Methods, Results and Conclusions) 
• Keywords 
• Introduction 
• Patients & methods/Materials & methods 
• Results 
• Discussion 
• Conclusions 
• Summary points – 8–10 bullet point sentences highlighting the key findings and conclusions 
of the research study 
• References 
• Reference annotations 
• Financial disclosure/Acknowledgements 


 

 

Editorials 

 

Editorials are short articles on issues of topical importance. We encourage our editorial writers to 
express their opinions, giving the author the opportunity to present criticism or address controversy. 
The intention is very much that the article should offer a personal perspective on a topic of recent 
interest. 

 

Word limit: 1000–1500 words 

Required sections: 

• Photo (headshot) of authors (including all co-authors) 
• NB. No figures or tables should be included in editorials 
• Financial disclosure/Acknowledgements 


 

 

 

 

 


Priority paper evaluations 

 

Priority paper evaluations review significant, recently published primary research articles carefully 
selected and assessed by specialists in the field (not a paper from the author’s own group). The 
primary research detailed in the chosen paper is discussed with the aim of keeping readers informed 
of the most promising discoveries/breakthroughs relevant to the subject of the journal through 
review and comment from experts. 

 

Priority Paper Evaluations are intended to extend and expand on the information presented, putting 
it in context and explaining why it is of importance. 

 

The ideal article will provide both a critical evaluation and the author’s opinion on the quality and 
novelty of the information disclosed. 

 

Word limit: 1500 words 

Required sections (for a more detailed description of these sections see Article sections): 

• Summary 
• Keywords 
• Summary of methods and results 
• Discussion 
• Future perspective 
• Executive summary 
• References (NB. The paper being evaluated should be listed in the bibliography as 
reference 1) 
• Reference annotations 
• Financial disclosure/Acknowledgements 


 

 

 

Conference scenes 

 

Conference scenes aim to summarize the most important research presented at a recent conference 
in the subject area of the journal. 

 

It is not usually feasible to attempt comprehensive coverage of the conference, as presentations are 
frequently too numerous for each to be done justice. The author should focus on those presentations 
that are most topical, interesting or thought-provoking. 

 

Word limit: 1500 words 

Required sections: 

• Conference details (title, date, location) 
• Financial disclosure/Acknowledgements 


 

 

Company profiles 

 

Company profiles allow representatives from pharmaceutical, biotechnology, etc. companies to 
describe the work currently being carried out within their particular organization, relevant to the field 
of the journal in question. 

 

These reports are intended to provide an insight into the history and strategy of a company and 
profile its corporate capabilities, advanced technologies and future potential. 

 

Word limit: 2000 words 


Required sections (for a more detailed description of these sections see Article sections): 

• Summary 
• Keywords 
• Introduction – brief factual account of the history and strategy of the company including 
background information e.g., the year the company was founded, number of employees etc. 
• Future perspective 
• Summary points – 8–10 bullet point sentences highlighting the key points of the profile 
• Financial disclosure/Acknowledgements 


 

 

Drug evaluations 

 

Separate author guidelines for the submission of this article type are available. 

 

 

Clinical trial commentaries 

 

Separate author guidelines for the submission of this article type are available. 

Manuscript preparation 

Spacing & headings 

 

Please use double line spacing throughout the manuscript. No more than four levels of subheading 
should be used to divide the text and should be clearly designated. 

 

 

Abbreviations 

Abbreviations should be defined on their first appearance, and in any table and figure footnotes. It is 
helpful if a separate list is provided of any abbreviations. 

 

 

Spelling 

 

US-preferred spelling will be used in the finished publication. 

Article sections 

 

Summary 

Not more than 150 words, this should not be an abstract but merely a scene-setting summary 
outlining the article scope and briefly putting it in context. The role of the summary is to draw in the 
interested casual browser. 

 

Keywords 

Up to 10 keywords (including therapeutic area, mechanism(s) of action etc.) plus names of drugs and 
compounds mentioned in the text. 


 

Future perspective 

The author is challenged to include speculative viewpoint on how the field will have evolved 5–
10 years from the point at which the article was written. 

 

Executive summary 

A series of bulleted statements representing key conclusions, unresolved issues and points for 
emphasis of work in future, under the main headings of the article. 

 

Example: 

 

 

 

References 

Authors should focus on recent papers and papers older than 5 years should not be included except 
for an over-riding purpose. 

 

References should be denoted numerically and in sequence in the text, using Arabic numerals placed 
in square brackets, i.e., [12]. 

 

If websites or patents are included, please use a separate numbering system for them, i.e., start 
numbering website references at [101] and patents at [201] to allow the reader to distinguish 
between websites/patents and primary literature references both in the text and in the bibliography. 

 

 

 

Format 

• Author’s names should appear without full stops in their initials 
• Quote first six authors’ names. If there are more than six, then quote first three et al 
• A colon follows authors’ names. 
• Journal name should be in italics and abbreviated to standard format 
• Volume number followed by comma, not bold 



• Page number range separated by a hyphen with no spaces, followed by the year in brackets, 
and then a full stop 


 

 

Examples 

 

Journal example: 

Fantl JA, Cardozo L, McClish DK et al.: Estrogen therapy in the management of urinary incontinence 
in postmenopausal women: a meta-analysis. Obstet. Gynecol. 83(1), 12–18 (1994). 

 

Book example: 

 

De Groat WC, Booth AM, Yoshimura N: Neurophysiology of micturition and its modification in 
animal models of human disease. In: The Autonomic Nervous System (Volume 6). Andrews WR (Ed.), 
Harwood Academic Publishers, London, UK, 227–289 (1993). 

 

Meeting abstract example: 

 

Smith AB, Jones CD. Recent progress in the pharmacotherapy of diseases of the lower urinary tract. 
Presented at: 13th International Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry. Atlanta, GA, USA, 28 
November–2 December 1994. 

 

Patent example: 

 

Merck Frosst Canada, Inc. WO9714691 (1997). 

(Use the following formats for patent numbers issued by the World, US and European patent offices, 
respectively: WO1234567, US1234567, EP-123456-A). 

 

 

Reference annotations 

 

Papers or of particular interest should be identified using one or two asterisk symbols: 

 

• * = of interest 
• ** = of considerable interest 


 

Each of the chosen references should be annotated with a brief sentence explaining why the 
reference is considered to be of interest/particular interest. 

Figures 

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited 
in the text. Define in the legend all abbreviations that are used in the figure. 

 

Figures should be provided in separate files to the text. It is unnecessary to incorporate the figures 
into the body of the manuscript. 

 

 

 

 

 


Color figure charge 

 

Future Medicine has a charge for the printing of color figures (i.e. each color page) in the print issue 
of the journal. We have no page charges, unlike some other publishers, and aim to keep our color 
charge to a minimum. 

 

This charge does not apply to the online (including PDF) version of articles, where all figures appear 
in color at no charge. 

 

 

Chemical structures 

 

If possible, please submit structures drawn in ISISDraw or Chemdraw format. However, chemical 
structures can be redrawn in-house. Please use the following conventions: 

 

• Always indicate stereochemistry where necessary – use the wedge and hash bond 
convention for chiral centers and mark cis/trans bonds as such. 
• Draw small peptides (up to five amino acids) in full; use amino acid abbreviations (Gly, Val, 
Leu, etc.) for larger peptides. 
• Refer to each structure with a number in the text; submit a separate file (i.e., not pasted 
throughout the text) containing these numbered structures in the original chemical drawing 
package that you used. 


 

 

Electronic figure files 

 

Please submit any other illustrations/schemes in an editable electronic format such as Illustrator, 
CorelDraw, PowerPoint, Excel or as postscripted/encapsulated postscripted (.ps/.eps) files. 

 

Photos should be provided at a resolution of 600 dpi, or as high as possible. 

 

 

Copyright 

 

If a figure has been published previously (even if you were the author), acknowledge the original 
source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material where 
necessary. 

 

As the author of your manuscript, you are responsible for obtaining permissions to use material 
owned by others. Since the permission-seeking process can be remarkably time-consuming, it is wise 
to begin writing for permission as soon as possible. 

 

Please send us photocopies of letters or forms granting you permission for the use of copyrighted 
material so that we can see that any special requirements with regard to wording and placement of 
credits are fulfilled. Keep the originals for your files. If payment is required for use of the figure, this 
should be covered by the author. 

Tables/Boxes 

Tables/Boxes should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first 
cited in the text. Define in the legend all abbreviations that are used in the table/box. 


 

 

Electronic files 

 

Tables/Boxes should be provided in separate files to the text, preferably in either Word or Excel 
format. It is unnecessary to incorporate the tables/boxes into the body of the manuscript. 

 

 

Copyright 

 

If a table or box has been published previously (even if you were the author), acknowledge the 
original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material 
where necessary. 

 

As the author of your manuscript, you are responsible for obtaining permissions to use material 
owned by others. Since the permission-seeking process can be remarkably time-consuming, it is wise 
to begin writing for permission as soon as possible. 

 

Please send us photocopies of letters or forms granting you permission for the use of copyrighted 
material so that we can see that any special requirements with regard to wording and placement of 
credits are fulfilled. Keep the originals for your files. If payment is required for use of the table/box, 
this should be covered by the author. 

Submission 

Please ensure that manuscripts are submitted on or before the agreed deadline. If a manuscript 
requires authorization by your organization before submission, please remember to take this into 
account when working towards these deadlines. 

 

If possible, please submit manuscripts in MS Word v. 6–8 format. However, we can convert most 
word-processing packages. Submission should be made by e-mail in the first instance. 

 

 

Peer review 

 

Once the manuscript has been received in-house, it will be peer-reviewed (this usually takes up to 2–
3 weeks). Please provide a list of suitable peer reviewers with your initial submission. 

 

 

 

 

 

Revision 

 

After peer review is complete, a further 2 weeks is allowed for any revisions (suggested by the 
referees/Editor) to be made. 

 

 

In-house production 

 


After the revised manuscript has been accepted for publication, it will undergo production in-house. 
This will involve type-setting, copy-editing, proof-reading and re-drawing of any graphics. Authors 
will receive proofs of the article to approve before going to print, and will be asked to sign a 
copyright transfer form (except in cases where this is not possible, i.e., government employees in 
some countries). 

Journal policies 

Future Medicine titles endorse the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical 
Journals, issued by the International Committee for Medical Journal Editors, and Code of Conduct for 
Editors of Biomedical Journals, produced by the Committee on Publication Ethics. This information is 
also available at www.futuremedicine.com

 

 


Manuscript submission & processing 

 

Future Medicine titles publish a range of article types, including solicited and unsolicited reviews, 
perspectives and original research articles. Receipt of all manuscripts will be acknowledged within 
1 week and authors will be notified as to whether the article is to progress to external review. Initial 
screening of articles by internal editorial staff will assess the topicality and importance of the subject, 
the clarity of presentation, and relevance to the audience of the journal in question. 

 

If you are interested in submitting an article, or have any queries regarding article submission, please 
contact the Managing Commissioning Editor for the journal (contact information can be found on 
our website at: www.futuremedicine.com. For new article proposals, the Managing Commissioning 
Editor will require a brief article outline and working title in the first instance. We also have an active 
commissioning program whereby the Commissioning Editor, under the advice of the Editorial 
Advisory Panel, solicits articles directly for publication. 

 

External peer review 

 

Through a rigorous peer review process, Future Medicine titles aim to ensure that reviews are 
unbiased, scientifically accurate and clinically relevant. All articles are peer reviewed by three or more 
members of the International Advisory Board or other specialists selected on the basis of experience 
and expertise. Review is performed on a double-blind basis – the identities of peer reviewers and 
authors are kept confidential. Peer reviewers must disclose potential conflicts of interests that may 
affect their ability to provide an unbiased appraisal (see Conflict of Interest Policy below). Peer 
reviewers complete a referee report form, to provide general comments to the editor and both 
general and specific comments to the author(s). 

 

Where an author believes that an editor has made an error in declining a paper, they may submit an 
appeal. The appeal letter should clearly state the reasons why the author(s) considers the decision to 
be incorrect and provide detailed, specific responses to any comments relating to the rejection of the 
review. Further advice from members of the journal’s Editorial Advisory Panel external experts will be 
sought regarding eligibility for re-review. 

 

Revision 

 

Most manuscripts require some degree of revision prior to acceptance. Authors should provide two 
copies of the revised manuscript – one of which should be highlighted to show where changes have 
been made. Detailed responses to reviewers’ comments, in a covering letter/email, are also required. 
Review manuscripts may be accepted at this point or may be subject to further peer review. The final 
decision on acceptability for publication lies with the journal editor. 

 

Post-acceptance 

 

Accepted review manuscripts are edited by the in-house Future Medicine editorial team. Authors will 
receive proofs of their article for approval and sign off and will be asked to sign a transfer of 
copyright agreement, except in circumstances where the author is ineligible to do so (e.g. 
government employees in some countries). 

 

 


Author disclosure & conflict of interest policy 

 

Authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist (e.g. personal or financial 
relationships that could influence their actions) and any such potential conflict of interest (including 
sources of funding) should be summarized in a separate section of the published review. Authors 
must disclose whether they have received writing assistance and identify the sources of funding for 
such assistance. Authors declaring no conflict of interest are required to publish a statement to that 
effect within the article. 

 

Authors must certify that all affiliations with or financial involvement with any organization or entity 
with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in their 
manuscript have been disclosed. Please note that examples of financial involvement include: 
employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or 
patents received or pending and royalties. This is list is not exclusive of other forms of financial 
involvement. Details of relevant conflicts of interests (or the lack of) must be declared in the 
‘Disclosure’ section of the manuscript for all listed authors. 

 

External peer reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest that could bias their opinions of the 
manuscript, and they should disqualify themselves from reviewing specific manuscripts if they believe 
it appropriate. Should any such conflict of interest be declared, the journal editor will judge whether 
the reviewer’s comments should be recognized or will interpret the reviewer’s comments in the 
context of any such declaration. 

 

 

Ethical conduct of research 

 

For studies involving data relating to human or animal experimental investigations, appropriate 
institutional review board approval is required and should be described within the article. For those 
investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the 
Declaration of Helsinki should be followed. For investigations involving human subjects, authors 
should explain how informed consent was obtained from the participants involved. 

 

Patients’ rights to privacy 

 

Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying 
information should not be included unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the 
patient (or parent or legal guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed 
consent for this purpose requires that the patient be shown the manuscript to be published. When 
informed consent has been obtained it should be indicated in the manuscript. 

 

In attempting to maintain patient anonymity, identifying details should be omitted where they are 
not essential. However, patient data should never be amended or falsified. Informed consent should 
be obtained whenever there is any doubt that anonymity can be assured. 

 

 

Use of personal communications & unpublished data 

 

Where an individual is identified within a review as a source of information in a personal 
communication or as a source for unpublished data, authors should include a signed statement of 
permission from the individual(s) concerned and specify the date of communication. 

 

 


Clinical trial registration 

 

Future Medicine titles prefer to publish clinical trials that have been included in a clinical trials registry 
that is accessible to the public at no charge, is electronically searchable, is open to prospective 
registrants and is managed by a not-for-profit organization, such as www.clinicaltrials.gov 
(sponsored by the United States National Library of Medicine). Whilst referees will take registration 
status into account, all well designed and presented trials and corresponding data will be considered 
for publication. 

 

 

Errata/corrigenda 

 

Mistakes by either editor or author should be identified wherever possible and an erratum or 
corrigendum published at the earliest opportunity. We will attempt to contact the author of the 
original article to confirm any error, and publish an appropriate erratum or corrigendum at the 
earliest opportunity. 

 

 

Permissions for reproduced or adapted material 

 

Authors must acknowledge the origin of all text, figures, tables or other information that has been 
adapted or reproduced from other publications. Authors must provide a copy of the original source 
documents and should submit permission from the authors of the original work and the original 
publishers for unlimited use in all markets and media (that includes both electronic and print use in 
any language). 

 

 

Duplicate publication/submission & plagiarism 

 

All manuscripts submitted to Future Medicine titles are considered for publication on the 
understanding that they have not been published previously elsewhere or are under consideration for 
publication elsewhere. The journal may, however, consider republication of a paper previously 
published in a language other than English, subject to prominent disclosure of the original source 
and with any necessary permission. Authors will be asked to certify that the manuscript represents 
valid work and that neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under their 
authorship has been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere, except as described 
in an attachment, and copies of closely related manuscripts are provided. The use of published or 
unpublished ideas, words or other intellectual property derived from other sources without 
attribution or permission, and representation of such as those of the author(s) is regarded as 
scientific misconduct and will be addressed as such. 

 

 

Misconduct 

 

If misconduct by authors or reviewers is suspected, either pre- or post-publication, action will be 
taken. An explanation will be sought from the party or parties considered to be involved. If the 
response is unsatisfactory, then an appropriate authority will be asked to investigate fully. Future 
Medicine will make all reasonable attempts to obtain a resolution in any such eventuality and correct 
the record or archive as necessary. 

 

 

 


