Company of Biologists signs new read-and-publish deal with Jisc

The Company of Biologists has signed a new three-year read-and-publish agreement with Jisc .

Under the agreement, which runs from from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2024, researchers at participating institutions will be able to publish an uncapped number of articles immediately open access in The Company of Biologists’  hybrid journals – Development, Journal of Cell Science and Journal of Experimental Biology – without paying an article processing charge (APC). They will also benefit from unlimited access to the journals, including the full archive dating back to 1853.

For the first time, Jisc member institutions also have the option to include uncapped APC-free publishing in The Company of Biologists’ fully open access journals - Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open. 

Anna Vernon, Head of Portfolio: Content Licensing at Jisc, said: 'We’re delighted to offer this agreement. Not only does this transitional agreement support the UK in the transition to open access, it will help provide the latest biological research for use and reuse at no charge by early-career biologists and cutting-edge researchers alike. This builds on the sector’s success in making over 50 per cent of UK research Open Access and will amplify the impact and reach of research.'

Rich Blount, Regional Sales Manager – Europe at The Company of Biologists, added: 'The Read & Publish agreement we signed with Jisc in November 2019 was the first such agreement we reached with a library consortium anywhere in the world. It was a pilot and we were very pleased that 29 UK institutions chose to participate. Two years on, it is great to have signed our first three-year renewal agreement with Jisc too, and we are excited that the new offer includes our fully Open Access journals for the first time.'

Claire Moulton, Publisher at The Company of Biologists, concluded: 'The Company of Biologists has been committed to open access publishing since 2004 and we have a track record of innovation. We were one of the first not-for-profit publishers to launch a cost-neutral read and publish initiative and our journals were the first in the world to be awarded Transformative Journal status by Plan S. We have had very positive feedback from authors at institutions participating in the 2020-2021 read and publish agreement with Jisc, and we look forward to continuing our partnership over the next three years to promote the growth of open access publishing in the biological and biomedical sciences in the UK.'