That Xia & He would offer someone like me, with zero expertise in pharmacology, $200 for an article for the Journal of Exploratory Research in Pharmacology because of "your significant contributions to the field of pharmacology" (see below) is a bad sign.
So is the company's address -- 11415 Ashford Willow, Sugar Land, Texas, 77478, USA. The building at this address is a single family dwelling. A couple of real estate websites give a variety of names for the occupants (with a little overlap): Vinay S Kantak, Rekha S Puranik, Sudhir Puranik, B Salunkhe, and Amy Verga. Directors Xia and He use the same address for Medjaden, Inc., incorporated in Texas in 2015. This company may be the same as Medjaden Biosciences, Ltd, a Hong Kong company founded in 2005.
- 4/16/17, 4:34:26 AM EDT: Dear Dr. Kaye, We are pleased to inform you Journal of Exploratory Research in Pharmacology (JERP) published the first issue in November 2016. JEPR ... focus[es] on novel findings and the most recent advances in basic and clinical pharmacology, covering topics from drug research, drug development, clinical trials and application. The exploratory research published in JERP may not necessarily be conclusive, but the study design must be solid, the methodologies must be reliable, the results must be true, and the conclusions must be rational and justifiable with evidence. ... As an open access journal, JERP guarantees a fast process in the editorial response, peer review, and online publication. ... Based on your significant contributions to the field of pharmacology, I am honored to invite you to write an article, which you believe to be appropriate for this journal. If you are able to provide a submission to JERP, please confirm within one week by e-mail. ... Additional time can be provided if needed. To acknowledge your contribution and valuable support, we will provide a modest honorarium of USD 200 upon acceptance of your manuscript for publication. Moreover, there will be no article processing fees or other related charges for this invited article as well as any additional articles subsequently submitted to JERP in which you are the first or corresponding author until 2020. ... Look forward to hearing from you with a positive response. ... With kind regards, Prof. Jide Tian, Prof. Ramón Cacabelos, Editors-in-Chief, Journal of Exploratory Research in Pharmacology, http://www.xiahepublishing.com/, editorialoffice@jerp-xh.com
Although the company brags about the number of proofreaders/editors they employ, all of them are freelance and very few are native English speakers. The staff has a false notion of their English language skills. This means that most are not able to judge the quality of English of the papers that they are paid to proofread/edit, and therefore the quality of work and publication rate suffers. Yet, publication rate is not their goal, only quantity of unknowing paying clients. They treat their staff, including Americans, with as much respect as slave immigrants in a Chinese kitchen. This seems to be the Chinese way of doing things.
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