The Biochemical Society (and its trading arm, Portland Press Ltd) is delighted to announce the launch of Subscribe to Open (S2O) for five of its world-leading research and review journals. This move marks another significant step in the Society's commitment to making research accessible while maintaining the highest standards of quality.

S2O is an innovative form of licencing model, which will extend the Society’s ability to deliver open access (OA) equitably and inclusively. It uses established channels and existing resources and infrastructure used by libraries. The initiative will be introduced in 2025 and will complement the Society’s existing OA routes – Read & Publish, Article Publishing Charge (APC) and Green OA. Its introduction is designed to ensure there is a compliant OA route for all papers published in the Society’s portfolio of journals.

For over a century, Biochemical Society journals have been supported by transactional relationships with libraries, and S2O will maintain these valued library partnerships, with the aim of:

• Expanding the global read accessibility and impact of bioscience research;
• Breaking down barriers related to publication costs, widening fee-free participation of OA publishing for all authors;
• Fostering inclusivity, regardless of the geographic locations of authors and readers;
• Aligning with the broader vision of open science supported by funders, institutions and regulators.
  
  

“We are excited to launch Subscribe to Open as the next milestone in our commitment to achieve a funder and institutionally compliant open access route for all our published articles by February 2025,” says Professor Nigel Hooper, Chair of Portland Press Board.

Professor Hooper explains: “Subscribe to Open is based on conditional open access, meaning the accessibility of research articles is directly tied to the support of our library subscribers – we’re broadening open access through community support. This model will enable the Biochemical Society to make a balanced and sustainable transition to open access, protecting and strengthening the support we provide for the molecular bioscience community through the Society’s charitable initiatives.”

As an active participant in the S2O Community of Practice, the Biochemical Society is collaborating with librarians, publishers and funders to establish S2O as a sustainable path to OA. If you would like to find out more about S2O and the Biochemical Society’s wider vision for transitioning its journals to OA, please visit the Transition to Open hub.

Biochemical Society/Portland Press Ltd

The Biochemical Society works in partnership with researchers, institutions, and funders to share knowledge and advance the molecular biosciences. Publishing world-leading research and reviews, we return all related profits to the bioscience community in support of our charitable activities. Publishing under our wholly-owned publisher, Portland Press, our aligned OA models are helping us transition fully with the aim of offering all authors compliant OA routes to publication by February 2025.

Find out more about open science at the Society and our transition to open and reach out to our Sales team if you have any questions.