What is a publication in pharma?

In life sciences, a publication is a formal scientific output that communicates clinical or biomedical evidence to external audiences. Most commonly, this means peer-reviewed journal articles and scientific congress materials such as abstracts, posters, and oral presentations. Publications are part of the permanent scientific record, so they are expected to be accurate, balanced, and transparent about how the work was funded and who contributed to it.

Why publications matter in life sciences

Publications are one of the primary ways evidence becomes usable knowledge. They help clinicians evaluate data quality, allow researchers to build on prior findings, and support guideline and policy discussions when evidence is strong and consistently reported.

For pharmaceutical companies, publications also demonstrate scientific credibility and ensure that data from sponsored research is disclosed responsibly rather than being fragmented across internal decks or limited to conference conversations.

Common publication types

A pharma publication program usually includes a mix of formats, depending on the stage of the product lifecycle and the maturity of the evidence base:

• Journal manuscripts: original research, secondary analyses, real-world evidence studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
• Congress outputs: abstracts, posters, and oral presentation slide decks.
• Enhanced content: plain language summaries and other audience-friendly formats, where journals and congresses permit.

How publication planning works in pharma

Publication planning is the structured process used to decide what will be published, when, and in which format, with clear ownership for authorship, review, and approvals. Good Publication Practice (GPP) guidance explicitly covers the planning, development, review, and documentation processes for company-sponsored biomedical publications, including how teams run publication plans and working groups. 

Publication ethics and governance

Because publications influence clinical practice and the scientific record, journals and medical publication standards focus heavily on transparency:

• Authorship and contributorship: who qualifies as an author, who should be acknowledged, and how writing support should be disclosed.
• Overlapping publications: avoiding duplicate submission and duplicate publication, and clearly disclosing prior dissemination such as abstracts, posters, or preprints where allowed.
• Documentation: maintaining traceability from claims back to source data, and keeping clear records of reviews and approvals.
  

Best practices

Teams that run strong publication programs typically:

• Start with a clear scientific narrative and map every claim to a data source.
• Lock timelines early around congress deadlines and journal submission cycles.
• Use recognised standards for ethical publication practice (including GPP for company-sponsored research)
• Apply disciplined review workflows with version control and documented approvals.
• Treat plain language summaries as a strategic tool for accessibility when feasible and permitted.