Preface by Editor-in-Chief

I wish to take this opportunity at the start of the fourth year of publication for Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry (CTMC) to consider where the journal has come and is heading in the future. This issue (vol 4 / 1) marks the 33rd since publication began in 2001. There were six issues that year, 12 in 2002, and 14 in 2003. We will have 16 issues in 2004 and, remarkably, many of these have already been received and are in the galley proof stage. Although Bentham must commit as to the number of issues for a particular year in advance, and each issue has ca. 90-120 pages, CTMC has flexibility as to when the issues appear. Since we have a considerable number of issues in hand and ready to print, we will be publishing three in both January and February. I am pleased to report that the journal has published a series of excellent issues containing quality manuscripts, and I thank all of the Guest Editors for their contributions. The topics covered have been broadly spaced in the general areas of medicinal chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, and new technologies. Prominent and popular issues have involved the thematic coverage of a particular protein target or a more general and inclusive review of a disease or therapeutic area. The scientific journal as we know it will rely in the future even more heavily upon online publication and abstracting for distribution. CTMC is covered by all of the major scientific abstracting services, and individual abstracts for the articles can be found online at the journal website (http: / / www.bentham.org / ctmc / ). Manuscripts can be ordered separately and directly from this website via Ingenta. Electronic as well as print subscriptions are available. As a sign of things to come, an annual book series from Bentham entitled “Frontiers in Medicinal Chemistry” will initiate publication solely online in January. However, even in this age of an almost overwhelming access to information, or perhaps because of that, there is a place for the hardcopy publication of secondary scientific review journals such as CTMC. By holding the journal and opening the cover, one can peruse research summaries and approaches to information that cannot be easily found elsewhere. I wish to thank Bentham Science Publishers and Dr. Matthew Honan for support. I also appreciate the willingness of so many distinguished scientists to be on the Editorial Advisory Board. Ambreen Wasim, Mahmood Alam, and their associates at the Bentham office in Pakistan manage the production of the journal, and I thank Barbara Calhoun, my Editorial Assistant here at Spring House, for her conscientious efforts.