Bentham Science Publishers
A United Arab Emirates-based academic publisher specializing in scientific, technical, and medical journals, books, and electronic publications.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Bentham Science Publishers is an academic publishing company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. Its publishing program focuses on scientific, technical, and medical research, with journals, books, and electronic publications covering fields such as chemistry, pharmaceutical science, medicine, biotechnology, engineering, computer science, and related areas. The company operates both subscription-based and open-access publishing activities, including the Bentham Open division. The company was incorporated in 1994 by Pakistani chemist and academic Atta-ur-Rahman and Matthew Honan as a private business at the Sharjah Airport International Free Trade Zone in the UAE. Reference material describes the publisher as having conducted much of its early operational activity in Pakistan before later developing its UAE-based corporate presence. Its publishing model has included conventional subscription journals as well as free-to-view online titles offered through its open-access program. Bentham's subscription portfolio has been described as comprising more than 120 journals. Its titles are represented in a range of scholarly indexing and abstracting services, including Scopus, Chemical Abstracts, MEDLINE, and EMBASE. By 2023, 66 Bentham Science journals were reported to have received Journal Citation Reports impact factors. The company is also identified as a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics, an organization concerned with standards and integrity in scholarly publishing. The publisher's best-known journal families include Current Medicinal Chemistry and Current Pharmaceutical Design, alongside a broader collection of titles in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, drug discovery, biotechnology, materials science, and other research disciplines. Bentham also publishes books and e-books intended for researchers, professionals, libraries, and academic institutions. Bentham Open has attracted substantial criticism over its editorial and peer-review practices. In 2009, a computer-generated paper associated with the SCIgen experiment was accepted by one of its journals, although Bentham later characterized the acceptance as part of an attempt to identify deceptive submissions and the paper was not formally published. In 2013, a separate Bentham Open journal accepted a deliberately nonsensical manuscript during the international "Who's Afraid of Peer Review?" investigation. The publisher has also been criticized for unsolicited invitations to researchers, including invitations to join editorial boards, and for the quality-control practices of some open-access titles. In 2009, a controversial article concerning alleged nanothermite evidence in World Trade Center dust appeared in The Open Chemical Physics Journal; the journal's editor-in-chief said that she had not authorized its publication and resigned. These episodes contributed to Bentham Open being included on Jeffrey Beall's former list of publishers considered potentially or probably predatory. That list was later discontinued. Despite the criticism, Bentham Science remains an operating scholarly publisher with a sizable journal portfolio and continuing activity in subscription and open-access academic publishing. Its profile is therefore defined by a combination of broad scientific coverage, international distribution, indexing and research-library relationships, and ongoing scrutiny concerning editorial governance and peer-review reliability.
History
Bentham Science Publishers was incorporated in 1994 by Atta-ur-Rahman and Matthew Honan as a private business in the Sharjah Airport International Free Trade Zone in the United Arab Emirates. The company's name and publishing program associate it with scientific and technical scholarship, while its principal commercial activity has been the publication of journals, books, and electronic research content. Accounts summarized in reference material describe the publisher as having operated substantially from Pakistan during its first six years. Those accounts place early activity at the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences and later in residential premises in Karachi, while the business was formally associated with a UAE free-trade-zone entity. The company's subsequent public identity has centered on its UAE base and its international academic publishing operations. Bentham developed a mixed publishing model. Its conventional program came to include more than 120 subscription-based journals across science, technology, medicine, chemistry, pharmacology, biotechnology, engineering, and related fields. The company also created Bentham Open, an open-access division offering free-to-view online journals. Reference material has described Bentham Open as publishing more than 150 peer-reviewed online titles at one point, although the size and composition of the portfolio have changed over time. The publisher's journals have been submitted to or included in major indexing and abstracting services, including Scopus, Chemical Abstracts, MEDLINE, and EMBASE. By 2023, 66 Bentham Science journals were reported to have Journal Citation Reports impact factors. The company is also listed as a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics, reflecting its formal connection to the standards infrastructure of scholarly publishing. Its journal portfolio includes established titles such as Current Medicinal Chemistry and Current Pharmaceutical Design, as well as numerous specialist publications. Bentham's open-access activities generated significant controversy. In 2009, a graduate student used the SCIgen software to generate a meaningless computer-science paper after receiving unsolicited invitations from Bentham journals. A Bentham Open title accepted the paper, although the manuscript was not officially published and the publisher later maintained that the acceptance was intended to help expose the submitter. The episode nevertheless became a prominent example in debates about open-access quality control, and some editors reportedly ended their association with Bentham. A second peer-review controversy occurred in 2013, when The Open Bioactive Compounds Journal accepted a bogus paper submitted during the "Who's Afraid of Peer Review?" investigation. The journal was later discontinued. Bentham Open was also criticized for repeated unsolicited invitations to scientists to submit manuscripts or serve on editorial boards. A 2017 study of publisher invitation spam identified the division as a habitual source of such messages. Another major controversy concerned The Open Chemical Physics Journal. In 2009, it published an article claiming that dust from the World Trade Center attacks contained active nanothermite, a claim associated with a wider 9/11 conspiracy theory. The journal's editor-in-chief, Marie-Paule Pileni, said that she had not authorized publication of the article and resigned. Jeffrey Beall subsequently criticized Bentham Open's business and review practices and placed it on his former list of publishers regarded as potentially, possibly, or probably predatory. Beall's list later ceased to operate. Bentham Science has continued as an active academic publisher despite these disputes. Its current identity is that of a global specialist publisher serving research communities through subscription journals, open-access publications, books, and e-books. The company's history illustrates both the expansion of digital and open-access scholarly communication and the persistent importance of editorial oversight, transparent peer review, and publication ethics.
- 2023
66 journals reported with Journal Citation Reports impact factors
[1]Reference material reported that 66 Bentham Science journals had received Journal Citation Reports impact factors.
- 2022
Large subscription and open-access portfolio documented
[1]Reference material described more than 120 subscription journals and more than 150 Bentham Open online journals, with titles indexed in services including Scopus, Chemical Abstracts, MEDLINE, and EMBASE.
- 2013
Bogus paper accepted by The Open Bioactive Compounds Journal
[1]A deliberately nonsensical manuscript was accepted during the "Who's Afraid of Peer Review?" investigation.
- 2009
SCIgen paper acceptance controversy
[1]A computer-generated manuscript was accepted by a Bentham Open journal during a test of scholarly peer review, drawing international criticism even though the paper was not formally published.
- 2009
Nanothermite article controversy
[1]The Open Chemical Physics Journal published a disputed article concerning alleged nanothermite in World Trade Center dust; its editor-in-chief said she had not authorized the publication and resigned.
- 1994
Bentham Science Publishers incorporated in the UAE
[1]Atta-ur-Rahman and Matthew Honan incorporated Bentham Science Publishers as a private business at the Sharjah Airport International Free Trade Zone.
Products and positioning
An international scholarly publishing service for researchers, academic institutions, libraries, and professional audiences in science, technology, and medicine.
Academic journals
Subscription-based scientific journals
Bentham Science's subscription program comprises a large portfolio of peer-reviewed journals in scientific, technical, and medical disciplines. The subjects include medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical design, pharmacology, biotechnology, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and related research areas. Reference material describes the portfolio as exceeding 120 titles and notes indexing in services such as Scopus, Chemical Abstracts, MEDLINE, and EMBASE.
Open-access academic journals
Bentham Open journals
Bentham Open is the company's open-access publishing division. It has offered free-to-view online journals across science, technology, and medicine, including specialist titles intended for rapid digital dissemination. The division has also been the focus of criticism concerning unsolicited invitations and the adequacy of peer review in particular journals.
Medical and pharmaceutical journal
Current Medicinal Chemistry
Current Medicinal Chemistry is one of Bentham Science's prominent journal titles. It publishes research and reviews related to medicinal chemistry and drug-related science, fitting the publisher's broader emphasis on pharmaceutical, chemical, and biomedical scholarship.
Pharmaceutical journal
Current Pharmaceutical Design
Current Pharmaceutical Design is a major Bentham Science journal focused on pharmaceutical research and drug-design-related topics. It is part of the publisher's established current-series portfolio serving researchers in pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical development, and biomedical science.
Academic books
Academic books and e-books
In addition to journals, Bentham Science publishes scholarly books and electronic books in scientific, technical, and medical subjects. These publications extend the company's role beyond periodical publishing and provide research, reference, and professional content for individuals, libraries, and academic institutions.
Controversies
2017
Criticism over unsolicited academic invitations
Research on invitation spam identified Bentham Open as a frequent sender of unsolicited requests to submit papers or join editorial boards. Similar criticism had been directed at the division since 2008.
2013
The Open Bioactive Compounds Journal bogus submission
The discontinued journal accepted a deliberately bogus paper during the "Who's Afraid of Peer Review?" investigation, adding to scrutiny of Bentham Open's peer-review standards.
2009
SCIgen peer-review test
A computer-generated paper was accepted by a Bentham Open journal after a researcher submitted it to test the publisher's review process. The paper was not officially published, but the acceptance became a widely cited criticism of the division's editorial controls.
2009
The Open Chemical Physics Journal nanothermite article
A disputed article alleging that World Trade Center dust contained active nanothermite appeared in a Bentham Open journal. Editor-in-chief Marie-Paule Pileni said she had not authorized publication and resigned.
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