Avid Bioservices Inc (CDMO)

[nuke661]

Hi everyone. I'm new to posting on this site but I've been watching in the background for about 2 years since I started taking a long position in PPHM.

I don't believe this information has been posted yet but I think it is something to keep in mind. I found this in the Nature Journal's web site in the section dealing with peer review and embargo policies. It's interesting to me that the media has the information about upcoming important papers at least 1 week prior to publication. With the current perceived importance attached to the Duke paper submitted to Nature Medicine, I believe that the knowledge that the media has their hands on this info a week before public release could be relevant.

"Communication with the media

Material submitted to Nature journals must not be discussed with the media, except in the case of accepted contributions, which can be discussed with the media no more than a week before the publication date under our embargo conditions. We reserve the right to halt the consideration or publication of a paper if this condition is broken.

Each Nature journal produces and distributes to a registered list a press release summarizing the content of the next issue's publication. Journalists are encouraged to read the full version of any papers they wish to cover, and are given the names of corresponding authors, together with phone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses. They receive access to the full text of papers about a week before publication on a password-protected website, together with other relevant material (for example, an accompanying News and Views article, and any extra illustrations provided by the authors). The content of the press release and papers is embargoed until the time and date clearly stated on the press release.

Papers that are deemed especially newsworthy are highlighted by a brief summary on the press release for that journal, written by the editors and the press office. Authors may therefore receive calls or emails from the media during this time; we encourage them to cooperate with journalists so that media coverage of their work is accurate and balanced. Authors whose papers are scheduled for publication may also arrange their own publicity (for instance through their institutional press offices), but they must strictly adhere to our press embargo and are advised to coordinate their own publicity with our press office.

The Nature journals believe that their embargo serves scientists, authors, journalists and the public. Our policy is to release information about our content in a way that provides fair and equal access to the media, allowing it to provide informed comment based on the complete and final version of the paper that is to be published. Authors and their institutions' press offices are able then to interact with the media ahead of publication, and benefit from the subsequent coverage.

The benefits of peer review as a means of giving journalists confidence in new work published in journals are self-evident. Premature release to the media denies journalists that confidence. It also removes journalists' ability to obtain informed reactions about the work from independent researchers in the field.

For all these reasons, Nature journals have refused to publish papers prematurely released to the press. Journalists who break our embargoes have been removed from the press-release circulation list, and we shall continue to use this sanction when appropriate. "

http://www.nature.com/authors/editorial_policies/embargo.html