American Medical Writers Association (AMWA)

AMWA provides extensive continuing education activities, including a Certificate Program, for professionals in medical communication via its conferences and local meetings. It also runs a quarterly journal.

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Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

COPE was founded in 1997 with the objective of providing a ‘sounding board for editors who were struggling with how best to deal with possible breaches in research and publication ethics’. It provides support for journal editors in dealing with ethical problems in publication. Its website provides guidelines and a code of conduct, as well details of cases concerning publication ethics reported to COPE.

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Council of Science Editors (CSE)

The CSE (formerly the Council of Biology Editors) was founded in 1957 by the National Science Foundation and the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Its mission statement is ‘CSE’s mission is to promote excellence in the communication of scientific information. CSE’s purpose is to serve members in the scientific, scientific publishing, and information science communities by fostering networking, education, discussion, and exchange and to be an authoritative resource on current and emerging issues in the communication of scientific information’.

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European Association of Science Editors (EASE)

An internationally oriented community of individuals from diverse backgrounds, linguistic traditions and professional experience who share an interest in science communication, writing and editing.

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European Medical Writers Association (EMWA)

EMWA offers training and networking opportunities to its members who are mainly medical writers and medical editors. It produces a regular magazine and holds two educational conferences a year, at which members can gain professional development credits by attending workshops and successfully completing post-workshop assessments.

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Global Alliance of Publication Professionals (GAPP)

GAPP aims to provide a timely and credible response to influential stories about medical publication professionals (eg, professional medical writers, publication planners). Gapp also aims to provide a “go to” group for those needing timely input from international leaders of medical publication professionals.

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International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

This highly influential group consists of representatives from a number of general medical journals including The Lancet, BMJ, NEJM and others (see website for a full list). Their key activities include the development of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals and statements on registration of clinical trials.

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International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP)

ISMPP is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to support medical publication professionals through education and advocacy. It has members from all sectors of medical publishing, and key benefits of membership include the annual meeting and web-based seminars on a range of topics. ISMPP also has several committees focusing on issues relevant to medical publication professionals, including Ethics, Standards and Best Practices, Education and others.

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MedComms Networking

This global initiative facilitates networking and dialogue amongst individuals working in and around the pharmaceutical industry and MedComms, focussing on specialist medical education, medical communications and medical publishing activities. MedComms Networking started in 2007 as a primarily UK-based community of MedComms agency specialists but has since evolved to ecompass a much broader remit.

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Medical Publishing Insights and Practices (MPIP) Initiative

The MPIP Initiative was founded in 2008 by members of the pharmaceutical industry and the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) to elevate trust, transparency, and integrity in publishing industry-sponsored studies. The major goal of MPIP is to promote more effective partnership between sponsors and journals to raise standards in medical publishing and expand access to research results.

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World Association of Medical Editors (WAME)

Organization consisting of editors of biomedical journals from around the world. It has developed a number of policy statements and useful resources which it provides freely on its website.

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