Medknow

Medknow, formally known as Medknow Publications and also referred to as Wolters Kluwer Medknow, is an academic publishing brand associated with medical, scientific, technical, and professional-society journals. It was established in Mumbai, India, in 1997 by Devkumar Sahu and developed around an open-access publishing-services model. Rather than operating primarily as a conventional consumer-facing magazine or book publisher, Medknow built its business by providing journal publishing, hosting, distribution, and related scholarly-publishing support to learned societies and associations. The company became notable in India’s developing scholarly-publishing environment because it offered society journals a digital and open-access route to publication. By 2006, its portfolio reportedly contained 33 scientific, technical, and medical journals, making it one of the larger open-access medical-content publishers in India at that point. Its publishing relationships subsequently extended beyond India, including partnerships and journal activity connected with China, the Middle East, and other international markets. Wolters Kluwer acquired Medknow in December 2011. After the acquisition, the brand became part of Wolters Kluwer’s Health division and was operated under Wolters Kluwer India. The transaction expanded Wolters Kluwer’s relationships with medical societies and strengthened its presence in journals originating from emerging and regional scholarly markets. By August 2016, Medknow was described as publishing more than 370 medical-society journals covering over 40 specialties. The brand’s portfolio has included both open-access and non-open-access titles; not every Medknow journal has been listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals. Medknow’s reputation has also been shaped by debates about quality control in open-access publishing. The publisher was briefly included on Jeffrey Beall’s list in 2011, but was later removed after being characterized as a publisher serving well-regarded Indian professional societies and disseminating substantial medical research. In 2013, the Journal of Natural Pharmaceuticals, a Medknow title, accepted a fabricated manuscript submitted by journalist John Bohannon during a widely reported investigation into peer review at open-access journals. Wolters Kluwer subsequently closed the journal, citing serious concerns. This episode remains an important part of the brand’s publishing history, although it concerned a specific journal rather than establishing that all Medknow titles followed the same editorial practices. Medknow’s principal value proposition is institutional and scholarly rather than consumer-oriented: it helps professional societies publish specialist journals, make research available online, and reach researchers and clinicians across regional and international audiences. The brand is therefore best understood as a medical and academic publishing platform within the broader Wolters Kluwer Health portfolio. Public reference material does not provide a reliable current count of titles, a complete list of active journals, detailed financial information, or a confirmed list of current executives. Some journal websites associated with Medknow have also reportedly been affected by website hijacking or spam, creating access problems for readers and authors.

Medknow Publications was founded in Mumbai in 1997 by Devkumar Sahu. Its early development took place during the expansion of digital scholarly communication in India, when professional associations and learned societies were increasingly seeking ways to publish medical and scientific research online. Medknow adopted an open-access-oriented publishing-services model and worked with societies that needed editorial, production, distribution, and online-hosting support for specialist journals. The company’s early emphasis was on medical and technical scholarship rather than general trade publishing. By 2006, Medknow was reported to have 33 scientific, technical, and medical journals in its portfolio. This made it a significant participant in India’s open-access medical-publishing sector at the time. Its society-journal model allowed specialist organizations to retain an important role in the publication of their research while using an external publisher for the technical and commercial work of journal production and dissemination. Medknow’s activities later expanded beyond India. Its publishing partnerships included organizations and journals connected with China, the Middle East, and other regions. This internationalization was important to the company’s later acquisition by Wolters Kluwer. In December 2011, Wolters Kluwer acquired Medknow Publications. The company subsequently became part of Wolters Kluwer’s Health division and operated under Wolters Kluwer India. The acquisition gave Wolters Kluwer an established network of medical-society publishing relationships, particularly in India and other emerging scholarly markets. The scale attributed to Medknow grew substantially after the acquisition. In 2016, reference material described the publisher as handling more than 370 medical-society journals in over 40 specialties. The portfolio was not uniformly open access: some titles were listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals, while others were not. Medknow was also not a member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association according to the cited reference material. These details reflect a mixed portfolio and a publishing model that combined open-access activity with other journal arrangements. The company encountered scrutiny during the broader controversy over editorial standards among open-access publishers. In 2011, Medknow briefly appeared on Jeffrey Beall’s list of potentially predatory publishers. It was later removed after being described as a publisher for many respected Indian professional societies and as a disseminator of a large amount of high-quality research. The episode illustrates the contested environment in which rapidly growing open-access publishers operated, but it does not by itself provide a complete assessment of every Medknow journal. In 2013, the Journal of Natural Pharmaceuticals, a Medknow title, became part of John Bohannon’s Who's Afraid of Peer Review? investigation. Bohannon submitted a deliberately fabricated scientific paper to a large group of open-access journals. The Medknow journal accepted the submission, and Wolters Kluwer subsequently closed the title, citing deep concerns. The incident became the most prominent quality-control controversy associated with the Medknow name and raised questions about peer review, editorial oversight, and the governance of society-journal publishing. Later reference material has reported that some Medknow journal websites were hijacked by spam websites, making affected journals inaccessible or redirecting visitors away from legitimate content. The available material does not establish the full scope, timing, or resolution of those incidents. Medknow remains identified with Wolters Kluwer’s medical and academic publishing activities, but public sources supplied for this entry do not establish a current journal count, detailed financial performance, or a complete roster of executives.

1. 2016Publisher reported to handle more than 370 journals

   Medknow was described as publishing more than 370 medical-society journals across more than 40 specialties.

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2. 2013Journal of Natural Pharmaceuticals is closed after peer-review sting

   Following acceptance of a fabricated paper in the Who's Afraid of Peer Review? investigation, Wolters Kluwer closed the Medknow journal Journal of Natural Pharmaceuticals.

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3. 2011Acquisition by Wolters Kluwer

   Wolters Kluwer acquired Medknow in December and incorporated it into its Health division under Wolters Kluwer India.

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4. 2006Portfolio reaches 33 journals

   Medknow was reported to have 33 scientific, technical, and medical journals, placing it among India’s larger open-access medical publishers at the time.

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5. 1997Medknow Publications is founded in Mumbai

   Devkumar Sahu founded Medknow Publications in Mumbai, India, establishing a publisher focused on scientific, technical, and medical society journals.

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A society-journal publishing partner focused on medical and scientific research, with roots in Indian open-access publishing and a position within Wolters Kluwer Health.

• Medical society journalsAcademic journals1997

  Medknow publishes journals on behalf of medical societies and professional associations. These titles cover specialist clinical and biomedical fields and are produced for scholarly, professional, and research audiences. The publisher’s role can include editorial-platform support, journal production, online publication, hosting, and distribution. The portfolio has included both open-access and other access models.

• Scientific and technical journalsAcademic journals1997

  The Medknow portfolio has included scientific and technical periodicals in addition to medical titles. These journals support the dissemination of specialized research through digital scholarly publishing and are generally associated with learned societies, associations, or professional communities rather than mass-market readership.

• Open-access publishing servicesPublishing services1997

  Medknow developed around an open-access publishing-services approach, helping societies make research available online. The services are associated with journal publishing and dissemination rather than with a single branded consumer product. Not all titles in the wider portfolio are reported to be open access.

• 2013Close Journal of Natural PharmaceuticalsOther

  The journal accepted a fabricated manuscript submitted during an investigation into peer review at open-access journals.

  What changed. Wolters Kluwer closed the journal and publicly cited deep concerns about the matter.

  Aftermath. The incident became a significant quality-control controversy associated with the Medknow portfolio and with wider debates about open-access journal oversight.

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• 2011Join Wolters Kluwer HealthM&A

  Medknow had developed a substantial network of medical and professional-society journals in India and had begun extending its publishing relationships internationally.

  What changed. Wolters Kluwer acquired Medknow in December 2011 and placed the business within its Health division under Wolters Kluwer India.

  Aftermath. The acquisition expanded Wolters Kluwer’s society-publishing relationships in India and supported partnerships in China, the Middle East, and other regions.

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• 2013Journal of Natural Pharmaceuticals peer-review controversyControversy

  As part of John Bohannon’s Who's Afraid of Peer Review? investigation, a fabricated scientific manuscript was submitted to the Medknow journal Journal of Natural Pharmaceuticals and accepted. Wolters Kluwer later shut the journal, citing deep concerns. The case became a prominent criticism of editorial and peer-review controls at the affected title.

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• 2016Medknow reported as publishing more than 370 medical-society journals

  Reference material described Medknow as publishing more than 370 medical-society journals across over 40 specialties, illustrating the scale reached after its integration into Wolters Kluwer.

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• 2011Wolters Kluwer acquires Medknow Publications

  Wolters Kluwer acquired the Indian academic publisher in December 2011, bringing Medknow into its Health division and expanding its relationships with medical and professional societies.

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• Reports of hijacked Medknow journal websites

  Some websites associated with Medknow journals have reportedly been hijacked by spam sites, leaving journal content and access pages unavailable or compromised.

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1. Medknow Publications
2. Medknow Publications: A success model in the digital era