Journal rankings · indicator year 2020
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2020
Pharmacology journal rankings 2020
53 ranked journals · Subfield in Medicine
Pharmacology has 53 ranked journals in 2020. The median journal has an OJR of 0.64, below the world average of 1.00, unchanged on 2019; Q1 starts at OJR 1.13. The top three are Natural Product Reports, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, and Clinical Pharmacokinetics.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2020. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2017–2019, the window the 2020 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Medicine (42)
- Surgery962
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine353
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health301
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine294
- Oncology238
- Infectious Diseases222
- Epidemiology196
- Neurology170
- Physiology163
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism161
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging160
- Psychiatry and Mental health140
- Pharmacology53
Show all 42 subfields
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine123
- Ophthalmology100
- Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health100
- Dermatology93
- Hematology79
- Obstetrics and Gynecology79
- Rheumatology69
- Nephrology58
- Complementary and alternative medicine51
- Reproductive Medicine48
- Emergency Medicine44
- Geriatrics and Gerontology39
- Otorhinolaryngology37
- Rehabilitation34
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine30
- Hepatology26
- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine24
- Genetics22
- Immunology and Allergy22
- Urology14
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine13
- Gastroenterology8
- Health Informatics5
- Internal Medicine5
- Family Practice3
- Transplantation3
- Biochemistry1
- Anatomy0
- Microbiology0
53 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2019. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2017–2019, the window the 2020 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2017–2019 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2011 to 2020. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Natural Product ReportsRoyal Society of Chemistry · United Kingdom | 3.94Q1 | 13.41 3.38 up from 2019 | 238 | 39% | — | ||
2Cannabis and Cannabinoid ResearchMary Ann Liebert, Inc. · United States | 3.08Q1 | 6.04 1.24 down from 2019 | 108 | 86% | — | ||
3Clinical PharmacokineticsAdis, Springer Healthcare · Switzerland | 2.09Q1 | 5.66 0.32 up from 2019 | 329 | 62% | $4,990 | ||
4Journal of PainElsevier BV · United States | 1.96Q1 | 5.10 0.03 up from 2019 | 447 | 100% | $4,180 | ||
5Pharmacotherapy The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug TherapyWiley · United States | 1.60Q1 | 4.84 0.95 up from 2019 | 412 | 33% | $4,030 | ||
6Pain Research and TreatmentHindawi Publishing Corporation · United Kingdom | 1.42Q1 | 2.69 0.63 up from 2019 | 45 | — | — | ||
7European Journal of PainWiley · United Kingdom | 1.42Q1 | 3.79 0.08 down from 2019 | 493 | 63% | $4,310 | ||
8Fungal Biology and BiotechnologyOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 1.41Q1 | 5.25 0.86 up from 2019 | 60 | 100% | $2,590 | ||
9Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical TherapyAmerican Physical Therapy Association · United States | 1.37Q1 | 3.63 0.23 up from 2019 | 364 | 18% | — | ||
10Journal of Natural ProductsAmerican Chemical Society · United States | 1.35Q1 | 4.26 0.05 up from 2019 | 1,176 | 33% | $4,500 | ||
11Journal of physiotherapyOAElsevier BV · Netherlands | 1.31Q1 | 3.03 0.32 up from 2019 | 174 | 100% | $3,450 | ||
12Physical TherapyOxford University Press · United States | 1.23Q1 | 3.08 0.05 up from 2019 | 414 | 90% | $4,035 | ||
13Brazilian Journal of Physical TherapyElsevier BV · Brazil | 1.23Q1 | 3.54 1.22 up from 2019 | 253 | 97% | $3,000 | ||
14Experimental and Clinical PsychopharmacologyAmerican Psychological Association · United States | 1.13Q1 | 3.47 0.66 up from 2019 | 181 | 63% | — | ||
15Pain MedicineOxford University Press · United States | 1.08Q2 | 2.64 0.32 up from 2019 | 939 | 40% | $5,036 | ||
16British Journal of PainSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 1.05Q2 | 1.58 0.54 down from 2019 | 101 | 98% | $4,150 | ||
17BMC Pharmacology and ToxicologyOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 1.05Q2 | 3.31 0.92 up from 2019 | 255 | 100% | $3,090 | ||
18Therapeutic Drug MonitoringLippincott Williams & Wilkins · United States | 1.02Q2 | 3.24 0.86 up from 2019 | 329 | 26% | — | ||
19The Journal of AntibioticsSpringer Nature · Japan | 0.98Q2 | 2.80 0.07 up from 2019 | 407 | 27% | $4,590 | ||
20Musculoskeletal Science and PracticeElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.93Q2 | 2.68 0.36 up from 2019 | 319 | 32% | $3,500 | ||
21WorkIOS Press · Netherlands | 0.91Q2 | 1.95 0.33 up from 2019 | 569 | 24% | $4,150 | ||
22Scandinavian Journal of PainOAElsevier BV · Germany | 0.89Q2 | 2.44 0.75 up from 2019 | 350 | 58% | $2,260 | ||
23Journal of Chiropractic MedicineElsevier BV · United States | 0.71Q2 | 1.34 0.23 down from 2019 | 117 | 74% | $3,300 | ||
24Current Drug SafetyBentham Science Publishers · Netherlands | 0.66Q2 | 2.13 0.68 up from 2019 | 96 | 14% | — | ||
25Chiropractic & Manual TherapiesOABioMed Central · United Kingdom | 0.66Q2 | 2.68 0.69 up from 2019 | 152 | 100% | $2,290 | ||
26Canadian Journal of PainOATaylor & Francis · United States | 0.64Q2 | 1.40 0.12 down from 2019 | 83 | 100% | $1,459 | ||
27Journal of Manipulative and Physiological TherapeuticsElsevier BV · United States | 0.64Q2 | 1.87 0.14 up from 2019 | 231 | 22% | $2,900 | ||
28Hong Kong Physiotherapy JournalOAWorld Scientific · Netherlands | 0.64Q3 | 1.46 0.73 up from 2019 | 52 | 100% | — | ||
29Ozone Science and EngineeringTaylor & Francis · United States | 0.64Q3 | 2.04 0.05 up from 2019 | 189 | 23% | — | ||
30Central Nervous System Agents in Medicinal ChemistryBentham Science Publishers · Netherlands | 0.62Q3 | 1.87 1.05 up from 2019 | 47 | 14% | — | ||
31Journal of Manual & Manipulative TherapyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 0.59Q3 | 1.55 0.44 up from 2019 | 98 | 100% | — | ||
32Journal of Caffeine and Adenosine ResearchMary Ann Liebert, Inc. · United States | 0.59Q3 | 1.60 0.04 down from 2019 | 45 | 29% | — | ||
| 0.58Q3 | 2.06 1.65 up from 2019 | 69 | 100% | — | |||
34Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and TherapeuticsWiley · United Kingdom | 0.55Q3 | 1.47 0.07 up from 2019 | 281 | 25% | $4,520 | ||
35International journal of medicinal mushroomsBegell House · United States | 0.54Q3 | 1.46 0.16 up from 2019 | 316 | 6% | — | ||
36Drug Safety - Case ReportsAdis, Springer Healthcare · Switzerland | 0.52Q3 | 1.15 0.08 down from 2019 | 59 | — | $1,095 | ||
37Humboldt Journal of Social RelationsPublisher not listed | 0.46Q3 | 0.22 0.39 down from 2019 | 87 | 91% | — | ||
38International journal of osteopathic medicineElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 0.43Q3 | 2.38 0.75 up from 2019 | 78 | 31% | $2,740 | ||
39Der SchmerzSpringer Science+Business Media · Germany | 0.39Q3 | 1.05 0.14 down from 2019 | 210 | 43% | $3,390 | ||
40European Journal of PhysiotherapyTaylor & Francis · United States | 0.36Q3 | 1.01 0.59 up from 2019 | 179 | 33% | — | ||
41International Journal of Human Factors Modelling and SimulationInderscience Publishers · United Kingdom | 0.35Q4 | 0.72 0.53 up from 2019 | 68 | — | — | ||
42Translational and Clinical PharmacologyOASouth Korea | 0.31Q4 | 1.04 0.57 up from 2019 | 91 | 100% | — | ||
43Physiotherapy Practice and ResearchIOS Press · Netherlands | 0.26Q4 | 0.69 0.45 up from 2019 | 58 | — | $4,150 | ||
44Planta Medica International OpenGeorg Thieme Verlag · Germany | 0.22Q4 | 0.17 0.18 down from 2019 | 120 | 92% | — | ||
45Physiotherapy QuarterlyOATermedia Publishing House · Poland | 0.18Q4 | 0.60 0.31 down from 2019 | 57 | 100% | — | ||
46Pharmacy & Pharmacology International JournalMedCrave Group · United States | 0.18Q4 | 0.46 0.18 up from 2019 | 161 | 94% | — | ||
47Bulletin of Faculty of Physical TherapyOASpringer Nature · Egypt | 0.15Q4 | 0.40 0.17 up from 2019 | 47 | 100% | $0 listed | ||
48Ozone TherapyOAPAGEPress (Italy) · Italy | 0.15Q4 | 0.64 0.07 up from 2019 | 42 | 100% | — | ||
49Current Enzyme InhibitionBentham Science Publishers · Netherlands | 0.11Q4 | 0.36 0.60 down from 2019 | 47 | 16% | — | ||
50Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy - An International JournalInstitute of Medico-legal Publications Private Limited · India | 0.10Q4 | 0.18 0.10 up from 2019 | 412 | 95% | — |
Subfields of Medicine, with Pharmacology highlighted.
- Surgery962
- Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine353
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health301
- Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine294
- Oncology238
- Infectious Diseases222
- Epidemiology196
- Neurology170
- Physiology163
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism161
- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging160
- Psychiatry and Mental health140
- Orthopedics and Sports Medicine123
- Ophthalmology100
- Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health100
- Dermatology93
- Hematology79
- Obstetrics and Gynecology79
- Rheumatology69
- Nephrology58
- Pharmacology53
- Complementary and alternative medicine51
- Reproductive Medicine48
- Emergency Medicine44
- Geriatrics and Gerontology39
- Otorhinolaryngology37
- Rehabilitation34
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine30
- Hepatology26
- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine24
- Genetics22
- Immunology and Allergy22
- Urology14
- Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine13
- Gastroenterology8
- Health Informatics5
- Internal Medicine5
- Family Practice3
- Transplantation3
- Biochemistry1
- Anatomy0
- Microbiology0
Journals
Citations made in 2020. Corpus-wide, 86.1% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
11 additional Pharmacology journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2017–2019, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2020. Publication window: 2017–2019. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 53
- Window papers (baseline)
- 61,076 +4.5% from indicator year 2017
- Median OJR
- 0.642 -15.2% from indicator year 2017
- Rising journals (2025)
- 1
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2017–2019 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 22 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 29 | 33 | 32 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 38 | 40 | 43 | 42 | 44 | 46 | 51 | 54 | 53 | 54 | 51 | 52 | 49 | 49 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 19,603 | 22,467 | 24,630 | 27,412 | 29,324 | 32,358 | 35,691 | 39,107 | 42,145 | 45,380 | 48,527 | 52,153 | 54,359 | 55,921 | 57,834 | 58,910 | 59,488 | 58,462 | 57,882 | 58,590 | 61,076 | 65,359 | 69,176 | 70,919 | 70,967 | 72,738 | |
| Median OJR | 0.50 | 0.59 | 0.56 | 0.672 | 0.51 | 0.62 | 0.715 | 0.667 | 0.7235 | 0.80 | 0.892 | 0.91 | 1.001 | 0.891 | 0.7936 | 0.7943 | 0.77 | 0.76 | 0.65 | 0.644 | 0.642 | 0.662 | 0.75 | 0.659 | 0.7243 | 0.73 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.